Both curry leaves and pudina are notorious for going bad quickly, which means a lot of people end up throwing out half the bunch before they’ve used it all. There’s nothing worse than reaching for curry leaves or mint for a quick tempering, only to find them wilted, blackened, or completely dried out in the fridge days after you bought them. The good news is that with the right storage method, both can easily last for months, sometimes even up to six, without losing much of their flavour or aroma.
Once fully dry, pack the leaves into an airtight container or a ziplock bag, pressing out as much air as possible before sealing, and pop it straight into the freezer. Stored this way, curry leaves stay fresh and usable for four to six months, and you can simply pull out a handful straight from frozen whenever a recipe calls for them, no thawing needed.
Mint tends to lose its aroma a little faster than curry leaves, so a slightly different approach works best. After washing and completely drying the leaves, you can either freeze them whole in an airtight bag the same way as curry leaves, or chop them finely and pack them into ice cube trays topped up with a little water, freezing them into small, ready-to-use cubes. These mint cubes are especially handy for chutneys, smoothies, or teas, since you can just pop one straight into whatever you’re cooking without needing to defrost a whole bag first.