Pandan Leaves

These fragrant leaves completely transform South Indian and Sri Lankan dishes. They are also found in many Thai sweet and savoury dishes. Asian grocers (see the suppliers section) are often a good place to look for them. The leaves are long and slender with a tipped end. Like curry leaves, I freeze mine and then cook them from frozen. I cut them down to 3 inches in length and halve them down the middle. The recipes that include them are the beetroot curry, Sri Lankan coconut dal and spicy caramelised onion sambol.