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What Can I Substitute for Curry Leaves?
Showing Australian names and measurements · change country in the menu
VerdictStraight swap
Frozen leaves keep most of the aromatic oils, so they flavour the oil and fry up much like fresh, though add them straight from the freezer and stand back because the ice spits in hot oil. Full details
Checked 25 October 2026 · Rankings aren't for sale
What's it doing in this dish?
You're sizzling mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil at the start of a sambar, rasam or South Indian curry before the onions go in.
bay leaves — 1 leaf for every 10 fresh curry leaves
Here the leaves' main job is flavouring the oil that carries through the whole pot. Frozen leaves do that almost as well as fresh. Dried leaves do it if you use double and fry them for only a few seconds. A bay leaf gives the oil a woody background note when you have nothing else.
You're frying a tadka of curry leaves, mustard seeds and chilli in ghee or oil and pouring it sizzling over dal or yoghurt at the end.
A finishing tadka needs the leaves to flavour the hot fat and sit on top as a crisp garnish. Frozen leaves cover both jobs. Dried leaves flavour the ghee but stay papery and burn quickly, so take the pan off the heat as soon as they go in.
You're simmering a coconut milk or fish curry where the leaves go into the sauce and cook with it.
lime or lemon zest — 2.5 ml finely grated zest for every 10 fresh curry leaves (½ tsp)
Coconut and fish carry a citrus note well, so makrut lime leaves or a little zest stirred in near the end fill the aroma gap. The curry will lean towards Thai or Malaysian flavours, and frozen curry leaves remain the closer match.
You're frying a handful of leaves until crisp to scatter over dal, upma, poha or a vegetable dish for crunch and colour.
Thai basil — 5 leaves for every 10 fresh curry leaves
Only a tender leaf will fry crisp and stay edible. Frozen curry leaves do this once patted dry. Thai basil crisps well and looks the part, but it brings an aniseed flavour instead of the nutty citrus one.
You're blending a coconut chutney and finishing it with a tempering of curry leaves and mustard seeds.
lime or lemon zest — 2.5 ml finely grated zest for every 10 fresh curry leaves (½ tsp)
The chutney gets most of its flavour from the tempering, so frozen leaves are the best option. If you have none, temper the mustard seeds alone and stir the zest straight into the chutney rather than the hot oil, where it would burn.
You're making a dish built around curry leaves, such as Malaysian butter prawns, curry leaf fried chicken or a curry leaf podi.
In these dishes the fried leaves are the main flavour and texture, often by the handful. Frozen curry leaves are the only acceptable stand-in because they are the same leaf, and nothing from another plant will make the dish taste like it should.
What Curry Leaves does in a recipe
flavour & aroma · primary — The leaves hold aromatic oils that give a nutty, citrusy, faintly resinous smell, strongest when they first hit hot fat.
tempering the oil · primary — Sizzled in oil or ghee at the start of cooking or in a tadka poured over at the end, they flavour the fat, which then carries that aroma through the whole dish.
texture & garnish · secondary — Fried briefly, the leaves turn crisp, glossy and dark green, adding crunch and colour to dals, chutneys and coconut dishes.
2.5 ml finely grated zest for every 10 fresh curry leaves (½ tsp)
Close enough
Australian tablespoons are 20 ml. UK, New Zealand, US and Canadian recipes use 15 ml, so their 1 tbsp is 3 Australian teaspoons.
frozen curry leaves
Straight swap
10 leaves for every 10 fresh curry leaves
Frozen leaves keep most of the aromatic oils, so they flavour the oil and fry up much like fresh, though add them straight from the freezer and stand back because the ice spits in hot oil.
Covers
flavour & aroma, tempering the oil, texture & garnish
Taste
The aroma is slightly softer than just-picked leaves but clearly the same flavour.
Texture
They crisp in oil a little less evenly and can stay slightly limp in the centre.
Looks
The leaves darken to an olive green once thawed or fried.
Best for
dal tadka, South Indian curries, coconut chutney
Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free
Tried this swap? How did it work?
dried curry leaves
One catch
20 dried leaves for every 10 fresh curry leaves
Drying drives off much of the aromatic oil, so the flavour role is only partly covered unless you use more and fry them gently, and they never crisp into a proper garnish.
The catch: Use about double the number and fry them for only 5–10 seconds in oil that is hot but not smoking, or crumble them into the simmering sauce, because dried leaves scorch and turn bitter almost instantly.
Covers
flavour & aroma, tempering the oil
Misses
texture & garnish
Taste
The flavour is muted and more hay-like, with little of the fresh citrus edge.
Texture
The leaves stay brittle and papery rather than turning crisp and glossy.
Looks
They are dull grey-green and often break into flakes.
Makrut leaves supply a strong citrus perfume that infuses oil and sauce well, but they lack the nutty, savoury side of curry leaves and are too tough to eat as a fried garnish.
Covers
flavour & aroma, tempering the oil
Misses
texture & garnish
Taste
The dish tastes distinctly of lime and leans towards Thai or Malaysian flavours.
Texture
Whole leaves stay leathery, so remove them or slice them into very fine threads.
Looks
Fine shreds are a brighter green and less noticeable than whole curry leaves.
Best for
coconut curries, fish curries, seafood stir-fries
Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free
Tried this swap? How did it work?
Thai basil
Close enough
5 leaves for every 10 fresh curry leaves
Thai basil fries crisp and perfumes the oil, covering the garnish role and some of the aroma, but its flavour is aniseed rather than citrus and nut.
Covers
flavour & aroma, texture & garnish
Misses
tempering the oil
Taste
A liquorice-like sweetness replaces the savoury, citrusy note of curry leaves.
Texture
The leaves fry crisp but are thinner and shatter more easily.
Looks
Fried leaves turn dark and translucent rather than glossy green.
A bay leaf gives the oil a herbal, woody background note, which fills some of the gap in slow-cooked dishes, but it has none of the citrus top note and cannot be eaten as a garnish.
Covers
tempering the oil
Misses
flavour & aroma, texture & garnish
Taste
The dish picks up a woody, slightly eucalyptus-like note instead of the nutty-citrus one.
Texture
The leaf stays hard and must be removed before serving.
Looks
There are no visible leaves in the finished dish.
Best for
slow-cooked curries, dal, biryani
Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free
Tried this swap? How did it work?
lime or lemon zest
Close enough· probably in your pantry
2.5 ml finely grated zest for every 10 fresh curry leaves (½ tsp)
Zest stirred in at the end adds the bright citrus edge of curry leaves, but it burns in hot oil so it cannot do the tempering job, and it gives no crunch.
Covers
flavour & aroma
Misses
tempering the oil, texture & garnish
Taste
The citrus note is sharper and more obvious, without the savoury, nutty depth.
Texture
The zest disappears into the sauce with no change to texture.
Looks
Tiny flecks of green or yellow show through the dish.
Best for
coconut chutney, lentil soups, fish curries
Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free
Tried this swap? How did it work?
Commonly tried, but skip these
People reach for these, and they let you down.
curry powder
Skip it
People reach for it because of the shared name, but curry leaves are a herb from a different plant with their own flavour, and the powder burns in the hot oil where the leaves are meant to sizzle.
Tried this swap? How did it work?
When to buy the real thing
The recipe uses curry leaves by the handful as the star, as in butter prawns, curry leaf chicken or karuveppilai podi.
Instead: Buy fresh curry leaves from an Indian or Asian grocer, or check the freezer section there for frozen ones, and cook something else tonight if you can't get either.
You have a silvery-leaved "curry plant" in the garden and are tempted to use it.
Instead: Leave it alone, because that ornamental plant is a different species that only smells of curry and is not the curry leaf used in cooking; buy real curry leaves instead.
You cook South Indian or Sri Lankan food often and keep running out.
Instead: Buy a large bunch, strip the leaves, freeze them flat in a zip-lock bag and use them straight from the freezer, or grow a curry leaf tree in a pot in a warm, sunny spot.
Rescue a swap gone wrong
The leaves turned black in the oil and the tadka smells acrid and bitter.
Why: The oil was too hot or the leaves were fried too long, which happens in seconds with dried leaves.
Fix: If the tadka hasn't gone in yet, tip it out and start again with oil that shimmers but doesn't smoke; if it's already in the dish, lift out the burnt leaves and pour over a fresh, gentler tadka.
The oil spat hard when the frozen leaves went in and they came out soft and limp instead of crisp.
Why: Ice on the leaves dropped the oil temperature and turned to steam, so the leaves stewed rather than fried.
Fix: Lift the leaves out, let the oil come back up to temperature and fry them again in a small batch; next time brush off the frost and pat them dry with paper towel first.
The curry tastes strongly of lime and more like a Thai curry than an Indian one.
Why: Too many makrut lime leaves went in or they simmered too long, and their citrus perfume is much stronger than curry leaves.
Fix: Fish out the leaves, stir in more coconut milk or stock to dilute the flavour, and add a quick tempering of mustard seeds and cumin to pull it back towards the original.
The dish has turned yellow-brown, tastes muddy and has a gritty, bitter edge.
Why: Curry powder was used in place of the leaves and scorched in the hot oil.
Can't be fixed — next time: This can't be undone, so serve it as it is with plenty of yoghurt or rice; next time use frozen or dried curry leaves, or temper just mustard seeds with a bay leaf.
Differences between countries
Plant and leaf movement restrictions (United States)
Curry leaf trees can host the insect that spreads citrus greening disease, so moving the plants and fresh leaves is restricted in some US citrus-growing states. Fresh supply can be patchy as a result, and frozen or dried leaves are often easier to find.
Applies to Australia
Makrut or kaffir lime leaves (Australia, United Kingdom, United States, Canada)
Australian shops and recipes mostly say makrut lime leaves, while UK, US and Canadian ones often still say kaffir lime leaves. They are the same leaf, so check both names when shopping for that substitute.
Applies to Australia
Curry plant at garden centres (Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand)
Garden centres sell a silvery-leaved herb labelled curry plant, which only smells of curry and is not the curry leaf tree. Look for a plant labelled curry leaf tree, or Murraya koenigii, if you want to grow your own.
Where to buy it
Applies to Australia
Australia · easy to find
Indian and Asian grocers, fresh herb section
Indian grocers usually sell large fresh bunches cheaply, and some supermarkets stock small packets near the fresh herbs.
United Kingdom · easy to find
Indian and South Asian grocers
Fresh bunches are common in South Asian grocers, and some larger supermarkets carry small packets or dried leaves.
New Zealand · moderate to find
Indian grocers
Indian grocers in the larger cities usually have fresh or frozen leaves, but supermarket supply is limited.
United States · moderate to find
Indian grocers, freezer section
Fresh leaves can be irregular, so check the freezer at Indian grocers for bagged frozen leaves.
Canada · moderate to find
Indian and South Asian grocers
South Asian grocers in the larger cities stock fresh and frozen leaves, while smaller towns may only have dried.
What is Curry Leaves called in other countries?
kadi pattasweet neem leavesmeetha neem
Measurements differ too, not just names: the kitchen conversion chart covers cups, spoons and oven temperatures across these countries.
Questions people ask
Are curry leaves the same as curry powder?
No, curry leaves are the leaves of a small tree, while curry powder is a ground blend of spices such as turmeric, coriander and cumin. They share a name but not a flavour, and curry powder contains no curry leaves. Swapping one for the other changes both the taste and the colour of the dish.
Can I leave curry leaves out of a recipe?
Yes, in most curries and dals you can leave them out and still get a good dish, though it will lack the nutty, citrusy aroma in the oil. Temper the mustard seeds and other spices as usual, and a bay leaf in the oil or a little lime zest at the end will partly fill the gap. In dishes built around the leaves, such as butter prawns or curry leaf chicken, leaving them out doesn't work.
Do you eat curry leaves or take them out?
You can eat them, and fried curry leaves are pleasantly crisp and savoury. Leaves simmered in a sauce go soft and slightly chewy, so many people push them to the side of the plate, but they are safe to eat.
How do you store fresh curry leaves?
Strip the leaves from the stems, seal them in a zip-lock bag and freeze them, where they keep most of their aroma for months. In the fridge they last about a week wrapped loosely in paper towel inside a bag. Pat frozen leaves dry before frying so they don't spit.
Can I use the curry plant from my garden instead of curry leaves?
No, the silvery-leaved curry plant sold in garden centres is a different, unrelated herb that only smells of curry. It doesn't taste like curry leaves and isn't used in Indian cooking. The culinary leaf comes from the curry leaf tree, which has glossy, dark green leaflets.
Where Curry Leaves comes from
Curry leaves come from Murraya koenigii, a small tree in the citrus family that is native to India and Sri Lanka. They are a staple of South Indian and Sri Lankan cooking, where they are usually fried in oil at the start or end of a dish.
Curry Leaves is usually dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free — check the label, and see the disclaimer.