How to clean and store Curry Leaves Fresh for Longer?

Today in this post I am going to tell you how to clean and store curry leaves fresh for longer as well as its benefits. But before that, let me ask you one thing, Do you always remove curry leaves out of your dishes? or throw them secretly without letting it know for your mother? Well, you will not from now. I will tell you why. Because I am going to tell you the benefits of consuming it. Curry leaves are used in every Indian kitchen especially South Indian kitchens. It is also called “sweet neem leaves”

Benefits

It has vitamins, minerals, calcium, carbs, iron, fiber, and many more which helps in hair growth, keep skin soft and supple. This also lowers bad cholesterol and helps in healthy heart functioning and also helps keep your blood sugar levels in control. In addition to this, it also helps in digestion.

As I already mentioned above it helps in hair growth and is also good for skin incorporate curry leaves in your daily meals and you will feel the changes you get with it. Trust Me! If you are unable to eat in leaf form, consume it in the powder form with rice at first few spoons in your lunch and dinner. This helps in digestion as well as hair strengthening. You can check out the Curry Leaves Powder recipe here

My love for Curry Leaves

In my home, the tempering or thalimpu will be incomplete without Curry Leaves. But due to this pandemic, as we all know it was difficult for the availability of a few vegetables, curry leaves were among those ( I am talking about online stores as I didn’t shop offline during a pandemic). I used to order when it was in stock but by the time of delivery, it was out of stock. So, I used to feel so sad for not getting those. I know You must be wondering why is she worried about “curry Leaves”? 😀 Yes, because I love them in my dishes. I feel my dishes are incomplete without them.

But one day I could able to get curry leaves online which were so fresh and aromatic. I bought 200gm, they have packed 100gm each in separate packets.

100 gm I made Curry Leaves Powder. The remaining 100gm I Cleaned and stored in the refrigerator.

During the pandemic, we have to be utmost careful in touching anything so are the vegetables, groceries, etc. I know even during normal times it is important to wash and clean vegetables thoroughly before we use them as there are mostly grown by pesticides. But now it is a must for everything to be cleaned before you use it. Never we imagined that the World will a standstill or in other words pause right? Maybe it’s nature’s way of healing itself from us.

In the end, we humans are no way equal to Mother Nature and have to surrender to her. Today I will tell you how I cleaned and stored curry leaves fresh for longer in the refrigerator. Do not skip to read any step. Read until the end.

Now let’s jump into the method of how to clean and store curry leaves fresh for longer.

Things Needed

A big Vessel( take according to the quantity of the curry leaves)
Salt(preferably rock salt)
Water
Medium or Large Sized Cotton cloth/Towel
Airtight Box which is a refrigerator safe

How to Clean the Curry Leaves

Firstly wash the outer cover or the packaging thoroughly with handwash and keep aside and wash your hands thoroughly.
Now fill the vessel with water and then add salt
Cut the packaging and add in curry leaves, wash your hands again and gently push curry leaves into water and let it soak for 1 minute.
After one minute, discard the water and wash in plain water, then add salt again and wash off.
Place the washed curry leaves in a colander or a strainer to drain off excess water

How to Dry the Curry Leaves

Now spread the cloth or towel on the dining table
Spread the washed curry leaves on the towel, just spread only on half of the towel.
Now close the curry leaves with the remaining part of the towel and gently press over the tower to absorb the moisture
Switch on the fan and allow it to dry completely.
The purpose of covering with the cloth/towel is to retain the texture of curry leaves and prevent it from changing the color.

How to Store the Curry Leaves

Once dried, take an airtight container, I used a tall plastic box that fits in my refrigerator. Make sure the box is dry.
Take a tissue, place it in the box, add a few curry leaves, then again place another tissue, curry leaves, and so on until the curry leaves are transferred into the box. This is the same as layering the biryani.
Keep the box in the refrigerator and use as in when needed.

This is how I clean and store curry leaves fresh for longer in the refrigerator.

IMPORTANT NOTES

Make sure the cotton cloth/towel you use are clean and dry
After cutting the package wash the scissors thoroughly with soap or liquid handwash. Then sanitize your hands
The drying time depends on the temperature of a particular region. In hot places, it will dry soon compared to cold places. For me, it took 30-45 minutes.

An alternative to the storage box I used you can check out here

Disclaimer- Purchase links are for general purposes only.