Is this a curry leaf?

Question

This is my first experience with cooking with corry leaves. I was able to find them at a local Indian grocery but I ran into a bit of a problem. They had two baskets of leave, the one on the top was labeled "Curry Leaves" and were a package of large leaves (about 8" long and 5" wide)

http://www.tokeefe.net/pics/LargeLeaf.jpg

The bottom basket looked more like what i was expecting and had a branch with seveal small leaves (1 or 2" long)

http://www.tokeefe.net/pics/SmallLeaf.jpg

The bought both and found the larger leaf has a lot more pungant aroma with a sweet, almost citrisy smell. By itself, it has a pleasand, spicy taste (which seems to numb the tongue).

The smaller leaf has a similar smell/taste but not as sweet and is not spicy at all. (so i'm not very good at explaining tastes).

Does anyone know what these leaves are? I'm fairly sure the bottom is the curry leaf, but what is the top?

Answer 1

The top photo with 2 leaves are paan (betel leaf), they are eaten with supari or betel nut as an after dinner digestive. The betel nut will turn your teeth red, personally I am not a big fan of the stuff.  

The second photo is definitely curry leaves, they should have a strong almost lemon fragrance.  Curry leaves are usually not eaten raw, they get their full intensity and fragrance when tempered in hot oil along with mustard seeds (and othet ingredients used for "tarka").

Unfornately, I was unable to paste some Wikipedia links, I kept getting "999 error" messages.

But you can do a wikipedia search for both paan and betel nut, great info.

Answer 2

the 2nd pic is curry leaves

Answer 3

The second link carries the image of curry leaves.

The first link shows what in India is known as 'Paan'. It is a  Betal Leaf.

Paan is chewed as a palate cleanser and a breath freshener. It is also commonly offered to guests and visitors as a sign of hospitality and eaten at cultural events. Paan filling is generally a mixture of various spices, fruits, and sugar. Paan makers may use mukhwas or tobacco as an ingredient to their paan fillings. Although many types of paan contain betel nuts as a filling, many other types do not. Some other types include what is called sweet paan, where candied fruit and fennel seeds are used.

More on the 'Paan' in this link -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan

Answer 4

The bottom ones with the several small leaves is the curry leaves .They are used in the tempering,but they can be eaten raw too(fresh ones tastes good raw).