Quick and easy curry leaf vinaigrette.
I once tried a curry leaf vinaigrette dressing that was served with tandoori fish at a local Indian restaurant. The recipe was a family secret so I wasn’t able to talk them into letting me have it. Oh well, at least the idea was there. I set out to figure out how to make it.
You’ll be happy to know this one is just as good and also quite easy to make. You can serve it with almost any tandoori dish or grilled vegetables. I also served it with a green salad the other night. It was a simple rocket and tomato salad with shavings of Parmesan topped with this curry leaf dressing. The flavours went so well together.
Curry leaf vinaigrette can be made in minutes and then set aside until needed. It keeps well in the fridge for a day or so.
The key to success is to find fresh – not dried – curry leaves which are available at most good Asian grocers. You also want a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
I’d love to hear what you think of this one. I’ll be making it a lot in future and will link other recipes that go well with it to this page. No, this is not really a vinaigrette as they name implies but you could use white wine vinegar instead of the lime which works nicely too.
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Curry Leaf Vinaigrette Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of fresh curry leaves - about 50.
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- A pinch of salt
- 1 clove garlic - smashed
- 1cm ginger - grated
- A pinch of red chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
Instructions
- Place the curry leaves in a pestle and mortar and pound until the leaves are broken and in small pieces but not a paste. This helps release their flavour.
- Now add the garlic and ginger and pound some more to incorporate.
- Pour in the rest of the ingredients and whisk them all together until you have a nice think leafy dressing.
- Check for seasoning and set aside until ready to use.
T.VanOsch
Thursday 29th of October 2020
I've never seen curry leaves being eaten raw. Definitely not in India. Even for a western style dressing, you'd temper (tadka) it. Any Indian cookbook written in the West does that as well. Just once, in a Padma Lakshmi cookbook, I saw it in a dressing being used raw. However the quantity was a lot less, and it was emulsified in the blender with olive oil, almost like a pesto. Anyway I do suggest tempering the curry leaves with mustard seeds, I think it'll elevate your dressing
Dan Toombs
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Thanks for the tip. Dan