The Goodness of Curry Leaves
Curry leaves are the most common ingredient in south Indian cooking. Whatever curries it may be, curry leaves are must. Its aroma and flavor is the signature of south Indian dishes. I like curry leaves the most is in buttermilk. Squeeze and add a few curry leaves and a ¼ tsp salt to a cup of buttermilk; it’s heavens on a hot sunny day.
Back home we had a small curry tree in our garden, and all our neighbors used to come for the leaves. I used to think we use curry leaves only for the taste and flavor it adds to the curry; but now I learned it has a great deal of health benefits too.
Its medicinal values make it very effective in treating indigestion. Just by smelling the leaves or drinking a mixture of curry leaves juice, lime, and honey makes you feel better from nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Curry leaves are said to be very useful in treating non- insulin dependable diabetes. Eating 5 or 6 fresh curry leaves empty stomach in the morning helps control diabetes. Chew curry leaves and water, it acts as a herbal mouthwash.
Include few curry leaves in your daily diet, to maintain optimum weight. Curry leaves contains beta- carotene (antioxidant) which helps prevent certain cancers. And studies show that, these leaves can reduce LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol.
Curry leaves gives best results when used fresh, but it does not lose much benefits when refrigerated. So what else do we need; start adding more curry leaves into your menu.