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Saving my greens!


RupenRao

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Hi guys,

I am working on another part of my website, essentially TIME MANAGEMENT, where I would be writing my ways to preserve fresh ingredients, like garlic, ginger etc. since we require this a lot in Indian cooking.

I was wondering if any of you guys preserve cilantro (like make a chutney) or curry leaves? I tried deep freezing curry leaves and using them later, but they lose their color and taste.

I do chop and preserve my garlic and ginger for months. Kindly input. I would like to know how we make good use of the entire curry leaves bunch that we get at the Indian store.

Regards,

Rupen

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Dried curry leaves, although a shadow of the fresh, are significantly better when dried at home. I do this when I have too many to use. Spread them out in some sort of basket that has enough holes for air to circulate and leave them until they are dry-1 or 2 days. I also put them in the freezer. They are not so bad this way.

I have a friend who pats his cilantro dry, chops it coarsely and then puts in a freezer bag in the freezer-it is just so-so. I keep my cilantro in a vase, with the roots in a little water, in the fridge. Cover tihs with the plastic bag you put the cilantro in when you purchased it. I usually use it up long before it has a chance to go bad. If I have too much I make cilantro chatni,which freezez beautifully.

Edward Hamann

Cooking Teacher

Indian Cooking

edhamann@hotmail.com

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before i figured that curry leaves were in steady supply,i bought way too much and ended up with a lot of semi-dry leaves-i preserved them in oil and forgot about them because i had the fresh ones.about a month later i had a very pretty curry patta infused oil.should do that again sometime!

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there was a time (not so long ago :wink: ) when the only curry leaf i could buy was dried. i clearly remember being excited at my luck when my "international grocer" rummaged in the back and produced a baggy of thin brown leaves. they had a trace of fragrance. but it was enough to inspire hopeful, if uninspired sambar.

i thank my lucky stars that there are now at least two stores within 5 minutes that usually have curry leaves in stock.

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Dried curry leaves, although a shadow of the fresh, are significantly better when dried at home. I do this when I have too many to use. Spread them out in some sort of basket that has enough holes for air to circulate and leave them until they are dry-1 or 2 days. I also put them in the freezer. They are not so bad this way.

I have a friend who pats his cilantro dry, chops it coarsely and then puts in a freezer bag in the freezer-it is just so-so. I keep my cilantro in a vase, with the roots in a little water, in the fridge. Cover tihs with the plastic bag you put the cilantro in when you purchased it. I usually use it up long before it has a chance to go bad. If I have too much I make cilantro chatni,which freezez beautifully.

I, too, dry curry patta leaves - in a very, very slow oven, as when making meringues, and then just keep them in a box to use whenever I need them. They may lose their deep green colour, but none of their flavour. Dried, they can also just be crushed and sprinkled, in powder form, into any dals, soups, etc.

As I have always found fresh cilantro, wherever I go, I have never had the need to preserve it. But at home, I also think the best way to keep it fresh is to place in a jar filled with water in the fridge. Parsley keeps well like this, too.

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Dried curry leaves, although a shadow of the fresh, are significantly better when dried at home. I do this when I have too many to use. Spread them out in some sort of basket that has enough holes for air to circulate and leave them until they are dry-1 or 2 days. I also put them in the freezer. They are not so bad this way.

I have a friend who pats his cilantro dry, chops it coarsely and then puts in a freezer bag in the freezer-it is just so-so. I keep my cilantro in a vase, with the roots in a little water, in the fridge. Cover tihs with the plastic bag you put the cilantro in when you purchased it. I usually use it up long before it has a chance to go bad. If I have too much I make cilantro chatni,which freezez beautifully.

I, too, dry curry patta leaves - in a very, very slow oven, as when making meringues, and then just keep them in a box to use whenever I need them. They may lose their deep green colour, but none of their flavour. Dried, they can also just be crushed and sprinkled, in powder form, into any dals, soups, etc.

As I have always found fresh cilantro, wherever I go, I have never had the need to preserve it. But at home, I also think the best way to keep it fresh is to place in a jar filled with water in the fridge. Parsley keeps well like this, too.

Welcome to the India forum! I need to try your method. My dried curry leaves are completely tasteless. Infact I hate tempering when my leaves dry out. I will try your method and report back

SO where are you posting from? Do tell us a bit about yourself.

Welcome :biggrin:

Monica Bhide

A Life of Spice

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Monica, mom makes the same chutney as your mother-in-laws.

In fact mom calls it kari pachadi.

She dry roasts the sesame seeds and always asks me to use Indian white sesame seeds. which ones do you use?

she uses peanuts from India, roasts them at home, she feels the ones I buy in supermarket here are not the same. I find the difference slight but not all that much.

she uses lime peel and juice instead of mango powder and add whole dried red chile, that has also been roasted.

It is amazing and we eat it with bread, buns or pita.

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  • 2 months later...

I just found this thread and thought I'd tell you of my experience. Last night I needed dried curry leaves for a recipe, and all I had were fresh. :shock: (I was making a spice powder for storage, so fresh leaves wouldn't have worked.) I was in a hurry, so I took the curry leaves off their stems and put them on a paper towel in the microwave. Then I "cooked" them for a few minutes on "defrost" (10% power), turning them over a lot, until they were quite crispy. They stayed a bright green, and had a lot more flavor than any dried curry leaves I've ever bought. I would do it again, just to have some on hand, although I usually freeze any extras. You might want to give it a try. Just be sure to monitor the process so that they don't burn.

-Mary

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