The curry leaf (Murraya koenigii) is the small, glossy, pointed leaflet of a slender citrus-family tree native to the Indian subcontinent, prized for a warm, complex aroma that is at once nutty, citrusy and faintly anise-like with a resinous, almost-curry fragrance found in no other herb. Despite the name it has nothing to do with commercial curry powder; it is a fresh aromatic in its own right, fried whole in hot oil or ghee at the very start of South Indian and Sri Lankan cooking to perfume dals, sambar, rasam, chutneys, kichdi and seasoned rice. Most fragrant fresh, it loses much of its character when dried, which is why cooks across the region keep a living tree by the kitchen door.