It is a small tree, growing 4–6 metres (13–20 ft)) tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm (16 in) in diameter.

[6] Commercial plantations have been established in India, and more recently Australia and South of Spain (Costa del Sol).

[6] It grows best in well-drained soil that does not dry out, in areas with full sun or partial shade, preferably away from the wind.

[8] The records of the leaves being utilized are found in Tamil literature dating back to the 1st and 4th centuries CE.

The species Bergera koenigii was first published by Carl Linnaeus in Mantissa Plantarum vol.2 on page 563 in 1767.

They are most widely used in southern and west coast Indian cooking, usually fried along with vegetable oil, mustard seeds and chopped onions in the first stage of the preparation.

They are also used to make thoran, vada, rasam, and kadhi; additionally, they are often dry-roasted (and then ground) in the preparation of various powdered spice blends (masalas), such as South Indian sambar masala, the main seasoning in the ubiquitous vegetable stew sambar.

[5] In Cambodia, curry leaves (Khmer: ស្លឹកកន្ទ្រោប, slœ̆k kontroap) are roasted and used as an ingredient for samlor machu kroeung.

[7] The leaves of Murraya koenigii are also used as a herb in Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine in which they are believed to possess anti-disease properties,[7][5] but there is no high-quality clinical evidence for such effects.