Hi I have just brought some dried Kaffir lime leaves and some dried curry leaves and I was just wondering if anyone knows why it says to remove them before serving? Hope someone can help! Thanx

Hi Caz, you can eat fresh kaffir lime leaves, they are delicious when finely sliced in dishes but dried leaves, be they kaffir, curry or bay are not pleasant to eat at all - they are just used for the flavour they give during cooking.

Where did you buy them from? I've had real trouble finding curry leaves.

u can buy both of these items from most oriental supermarkets, and on line and i believe even some supermarkets are stocking them now to. but as g, says, remove after cooking ,as they will be tough to eat, so just put them in dry to add the flavour...

Peppercorn - try seasonedpioneers or devsspices online.

Peppercorn - if you are considering buying online then I would strongly recommend that you buy fresh curry leaves, they are not expensive and they freeze really well. The flavour is wonderful and you do not have to remove them once the dish is cooked.

Likewise to anyone wanting to try Kaffir lime leaves - the dried version are really no substitute for the real thing (the fresh leaves freeze well too). There is a wonderful recipe on this site for Crab Risotto with coconut milk and coriander by Ross Burden that uses fresh Kaffir leaves and it is superb.

Peppercorn, if you want curry leaves try the Indian spice specialists Natco Online at

[link]

The best there is. Everything you need and the reassurance of a major Asian brand established for yonks.

ie no rubbish from God knows where ( might be cheap but is it any good?)

I know you are a big advocate of Natco Spice Boy but I really need to stress that fresh is best when it comes to curry leaves or kaffir lime leaves - if you are going to buy online, as you would with Natco, then go for fresh.

here here georgie, fresh is best, u will soo notice the difference in the flavour!!!

Sorry Georgie and Snoozy, I must correct this misunderstanding. You cannot tell the difference when cooked between dried curry leaves and fresh - AS LONG AS YOU DOUBLE THE QUANTITY. This is a common mistake when using dried curry leaves and the reason why people usually suggest fresh is best.A handful of dried will not produce the same flavour when cooked as a handful of fresh but who wants the inconvenience of buying fresh every time?
Most Asians dont.

Try the dried and double the quantity-you wont be able to tell the difference.

I am sorry Spice Boy but you and I will have to just disagree about fresh taste vs dried taste.

I know about the doubling of quantities but my argument is that to actually eat a kaffir lime leaf is a much more pleasant experience than simply adding a dried one for flavour. The same with curry leaves.

I will forgo the inconvenience in the search of the taste - and if someone is going to buy online, which surely is no inconvenience as you yourself know, then why not try fresh? Surely you find the taste of fresh coriander far more exciting than dried? A finely sliced kaffir leaf is so far more exciting on the tastebuds than simply the flavour of a dried one?

As I say, you and I will just have to disagree.

that makes 2 of us then Georgie, still with you on all this. agreee to disagree. sorry spice boy...:( x

Thinking on about this - when I said I know about doubling the quantities I meant fresh to dried. It has always been my understanding that if your recipe calls for fresh and you only have dried, you half the quantity if using dried, as dried has far more concentrated flavour than fresh. Otherwise, by keeping the same quantity of dried to fresh you are in danger of over powering the dish.

However, this is all by the by - as the original conversation was about kaffir and curry leaves and I still believe that eating fresh (when possible) is better than just using dried. But hey, we are all different.

yes Georgie you are correct...half of dried to fresh...and it is all down to the individual what you prefer to use and sometimes more convenient. i always keep dried curry and kaffir lime leaves in my cupboard in case i have a brain wave to do something exotic on the spur and dont have any frozen. so its handy, but if i had the choice at hand ,i would still go fresh!!

Spice Boy,

I don't normally post a strong disagreement, but you are wrong when you say "most asians don't" want the inconvenience of buying fresh every time. Actually they do, dried curry leaves are seldom if never used by the majority of asian cooks.

There is a taste difference, as you would expect. If one is fresh and one is dried, it is ok to use dried curry leaves, me I would leave them out.

A good way of storing fresh curry leaves is to freeze them, they will last for about 6 months and still be full of flavour.

Personally I like the taste of curry leaves and will eat them, but hey each to their own.

Whoa there ladies! Seems I need to expand a bit here.

First off, the original question was why do you need to remove lime/curry leaves from a cooked dish - answer - you dont. Its all down to the individual of course but like Reshma I eat them - dried or fresh.

I also did not say dried tastes better than fresh or recommend dried curry leaves over fresh - I simply said that if used in the right proportion you cant tell the difference and I stand by that.

I also said that buying online is convenient - not everyone has the luck to live near an asian grocers and can buy fresh. Reshma, as a Welsh Asian you probably appreciate that its not always easy finding asian ingredients if you live off the M6 corridor. Which brings me on to the coinvenience point. Buying online is no problem I agree with you Georgie, but if you can find an online supplier of FRESH curry leaves let me know - I dread to think what state they would be in after 4 days in the post!

As for the quantity point Georgie, I have found that once opened dried curry leaves lose their potency really quickly. As most people, like you Snoozy will keep them in their cupboards for a while, you need to up the dose - its all up to individual taste of course, but I have found my formula works - I agree that this might be a bit of overkill with a freshly opened jar of dried curry leaves.

And finally Reshma, I know plenty of Asian households that have jars of dried curry leaves in their kitchen cupboards and curry pastes and shop bought chutneys and pickles and a whole host of other convenience foods and I have eaten plenty of dried curry leaves added to dishes in Indian restaurants all over the country, maybe they just like everyone to think its all done from scratch/fresh?

Fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves can be brought from Birgit Erath (who has been on Good Food Live a few times) - her online site is The Spice Shop

[link]

The leaves were in excellent condition when they arrived and froze beautifully - they were also extremely good value! Her fresh produce is very good as to are her dried spices.

Hi, if you have a local garden centre go and buy a curry leaf plant. I did last September and am not green fingered in the slightest. It just grows with no effort, and just go out and pick them and add them to your dishes. I grow mine in a largish plant pot.

vb and sons hey, cant go wrong there