The reason, I am ashamed to say, is that when it comes to Indian cooking, I just don’t cut the mustard. Just ask my hubby or my parents. Unlike pakka Malayalee women who grow their own curry leaf (karivepilla in Malayalam) plant in their homes, I am probably one of a handful of Malayalee women in all of America who runs to the Indian grocery store to pick up a few sprigs of frozen or few-weeks-old curry leaves to use in any number of traditional Keralite dishes I normally don’t cook. Substitute basil or any other herbs, and you are toast. (Note to Americans: Curry leaves are NOT the same as curry powder (a mix of dry spices) and pakka Indians don’t use curry powder either. When making a dish, you usually pop mustard seeds in oil and fry the curry leaves with onions and chilies before adding other ingredients/spices.)
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| Flickr.com/By Mydaas! |
Let me make this clear. Long, curly hair (which most Malayalees cut short and blow out or straighten these days) and varying shades of olive complexion do not a Malayalee woman make. The ultimate measure of a Malayalee woman lies in how well she grows and nurtures the small native Indian plant, standing by some estimates about 4-6 meters tall – that can grow taller than an average Malayalee woman – and produces aromatic green leaves that look a bit like bay leaves, are leathery in texture and have a citrusy flavor. Cultivating one or more curry leaf plants is as essential to a Malayalee woman’s status in society as the curry leaf is to South Indian dishes. The plant, a Malayalee woman’s pride and joy, is a testament to her heritage and is key to earning her a top chef star prize at any dinner parties.
Since I don’t sport a green thumb – my two previous attempts at growing the plant failed to take root — I’ve always considered myself a Malayalee cook not worth her salt. Garden-variety Indian that I am, I cook up quite a storm in my house by making Italian, Spanish, Mexican and other non-Keralite dishes, but when the craving for Indian food hits me and mom is not around, I confess I’ve bought curry leaves that another woman grew in her pot. Hubby, always a good sport, has had no choice in this matter but to live by this adage: “If you don't like my cooking, lower your standards.”
But last summer, a relative who cherishes her garden of aromatic curry plants as a mother cherishes her son, sensed that I was really up a tree and offered me a tender plant. Within months, the plant almost died on me, coincidentally, after a good friend remarked why in the world I needed a curry leaf plant, while I served him pasta puttanesca topped with chopped basil, for dinner.
He was probably just green with envy, but my plant has since sprouted fresh leaves and I am back in the good graces of pakka Malayalees – and have found new favor in my hubby’s eyes. Now, I can stand as tall as any pakka Malayalee, or the curry leaf plant. Who can’t relish that!
I am so impressed with people who can keep a plant alive - and kudos to you for doing so! I can barely keep my child alive and thus I've had to give up on my plants. It's one or the other...
ReplyDeleteIf it's any consolation I bet you cut the mustard way more than I do when it comes to cooking. Trust me on this!
Delicious post, Leema! I love your way with words. And food. By the way, I have a green thumb, but the doctor says it's a fungus.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any better luck with plants. Normally I kill them, unintentionally, of course, within a week. But I did have a Thai basil that survived a summer with me. I took it in a pot into the house in November. Until one day I spotted a tiny thing that hopped. Then another. Then another. We had our own plague of miniature locusts. Apparently a pest laid its eggs in the pot and a whole swarm hatched in the hospitable environment of my home. Needless to say, that pot and now-frozen plant are sitting outside in the blizzard.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post! In the kitchen, I'm also a letdown to my Chinese parents!
ReplyDeleteLeema, as the newly revealed Master Gardener (Mistress Gardener?) of Curry, you have inspired a suggestion. Know those matching plants we have at our desks? Let's add matching CURRY plants! If nothing else, it will spice up our work shift!
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ReplyDeleteI agree to everything you mentioned in this blog Leema. You've written it so well! I myself don't have a green thumb. Every spring/ summer, I get herbs from the Farmers market and none of them have survived. I end up getting a small bag of curry leaves from the Indian store too, and use it even if they've dried up in the refrigerator. It's great that you don't have to resort to it anymore and that your curry leaves plant is growing now.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post, Leema. I'm one of those people who prefer to cook using short-cuts and ready-made ingredients (a lazy cook, in other words.) I'm definitely not one to grow curry leaves or make my own pizza dough so you should give yourself a lot of credit for at least trying. I've actually stopped buying curry leaves from the Indian store for a while now because they go bad quite quickly. This Sunday, we ordered takeout from this restaurant in Flushing called Southern Spice and their chicken dish (which was quite delicious) had mustard seeds and curry leaves. Eating that made me realize how much flavor my curries have been missing without those curry leaves!
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