TRUTH BE TOLD

SO WHY HAVE MY CURRY LEAVES LOST THEIR AROMA?

Image credit: HARSHRAJ GOND from Pexels.

By DR VICKI BISMILLA

My grandfather was born in India and brought to South Africa as an indentured labourer in the 1800s.

Tens of thousands of pucca Indians like him were taken to Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad, Mauritius, South Africa and East Africa and brought with them every aspect of Indian cooking. So we, as their descendants, carry that aromatic legacy with us wherever we go. And we cherish all of our spices and other accompaniments like curry leaves. Growing up in South Africa, we had a huge curry leaf tree in our backyard, and I mean huge, and the fragrance was out of this world. My sister in Durban still has a curry leaf tree in her backyard and you can enjoy the fragrance as you lean over its leaves. I use curry leaves in almost all my vegetarian curries and in the fish curry I cook for my husband. Curry leaves are botanically classified as Murraya koenigii. In South Africa my parents called them karipulleh and Shagorika tells me that in South India, the name varies between karu-vapilai or karupulleh and it is called kadi patta in Hindi.

Now here is the problem. For the past several months I have bought and thrown out bunches and bunches of curry leaves because they just do not smell right. In fact some do not smell at all. Even my favourite Indian grocery stores were selling this third-rate product. Then mysteriously one day I saw bunches of curry leaves in a large No Frills supermarket and subsequently at a Freshco. And lo and behold, the sticker read Product of the Dominican Republic! What? Since when is the Dominican Republic growing our beloved curry leaves? So I started to delve into this mystery.

 A very, very nice manager at my favourite vegetarian Indian grocery store called Panchavati (I love the name from the Ramayana) took the time to explain to me what is happening. Apparently the Dominican Republic curry leaves are flooding our markets and he agrees that the aroma is just not in them. But the Indian grocers here are importing them because it is a shorter distance and the leaves arrive very fresh and crisp. Those from India take longer and wilt sooner. But, I protested, the only reason we use curry leaves in our curries is for the aroma! The nice manager, so patient and understanding, said that he would try to get a few boxes a month of the real stuff, but cautioned that they will cost more. I totally understand that business is business and I assured the young man that I do see the business perspective. However, I love my curry leaves and my connection to my Indian roots.

Image credit: GAGAN KAUR from Pexels.

As I delved more I thought I would talk with managers of Sri Lankan and South Indian stores in Scarborough since curry leaves are integral to those specific regional cuisines. Every manager I talked with was respectful, open and very patient. One manager said that he realized that the Dominican curry leaves were not the same as those from India and Sri Lanka, but that Canada Customs had stopped the imports from those countries because of some concerns about sanitary conditions. I found that alarming. Another manager said that they were selling Dominican Republic curry leaves for many years! He said that he had visited the curry leaf farms in the Dominican Republic and, “They are farmed by Indian people like ourselves. We got a shipment yesterday, why don’t you come on in and see.” So I drove to his store – the parking lot was overflowing and the store was jam- packed. I found a like-minded woman smelling the plastic bags of curry leaves, so I struck a conversation. I asked her if she knew that they were from the Dominican Republic and do they smell right. She said that she knew that they are now being imported from there and she continued, “No, they don’t smell right, but it’s the only kind available now so we have to buy”.

And that’s that! We have to buy what is available, so I will continue searching for the real stuff and meanwhile try to make do with the not-so-perfect curry leaves on offer.

* The article was written before the cancellation of international flights halted the import of any kind of curry leaves from anywhere.

 • Dr Vicki Bismilla is a retired Superintendent of Schools and retired college Vice-President, Academic, and Chief Learning Officer. She has authored two books