Indian Bay-leaf (Cinnamomum tamala [Buch.-Ham.] Nees et Eberm.)

Twig of Indian Bay

Flowers of Indian bay leaf

The Indian bay-leaves are the foliage of a tree closely related to cinnamon. The tough, three-veined leaves are very popular in Northern India, but are little known else­where — at least, today. They were well known to the Romans under the name malo­bathrum (also spelt mala­bathrum) and used both for perfumery and in cooking; in recipes, they were often just referred to as folia leaves, which some cookbook editions misrender as bay leaves. See also silphion for the flavours of ancient Rome.

Indian bay leaves might still have been available during the early Middle Ages; some medieval recipes for beer brewing mention folia, but the identi­fication is really unclear (see gale). In any case, at some point of time between late antiquite and High Middle Ages, they fell victim to the multitude of new spices then available, and were for­gotten. They were re­dis­covered only in the Age of Ex­ploration, when Western scholars for the first time arrived in India and studied its products. In the 16.th century, Garcia de Orta encountered the leaves while travelling in India and identified them with the spice known only from ancient records.

Flowers of Indian bay leaf

Today, Indian bay-leaves are a spice used almost exclu­sively in the kitchens of North­ern India, especially in the famous Moghul cuisine that was deve­loped at the Imperial courts in Delhi and Agra. In ac­cor­dance with the origins of the Moghul dynasty, Moghul cooking contains ele­ments derived from Arabic and Persian cooking. This culinary style aims at a com­plexity and per­fection com­parable to the archi­tectonic beauty of the Taj Mahal, which was built in the same era.

Flowers of Indian Bay leaf

Flowering twig of Indian Bay leaf

Tree of Indian bay-leaf

In Moghul cooking style, much use is made of sweet and aromatic spices; besides Indian bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom are con­sidered the most im­por­tant spices for deli­cious rice dishes (biryani [बिरयानी]). Further­more, Moghul cuisine is characterized by rather small chile usage (contrasting habits in the rest of India); cumin, which is a most popular spice all over India, is frequently substituted by a closely related, but culinarily different, plant known as black cumin (see there for a fuller account on moghul cuisine).

Flowers of Indian Bay leaf

Indian bay leaves are found not only in biryanis, but also in Moghul kormas, for which today the North­ern Indian city of Lucknow is famous. To make korma, meat (or oc­casio­nally veg­etable) is slowly but for long time braised in a rich, fragrant sauce thickened with ground almonds; often, the cooking pots are sealed to avoid any loss of aroma. Indian bay-leaves also form part of the Northern Indian spice mixture garam masala (see cumin), which is almost the only time when they are used in ground form.

Flowering twig of Indian Bay leaf

In the every­day cooking of North­ern India, Indian bay-leaves are one of the most com­mon spices, and even more widely used than most other aro­matic spices. They ap­pear in almost every slow-cooked food of the North and are par­ticu­larly loved in Muslim-style meat curries. In South India, they are much less known; some­times, they get replaced by similar leaves like cinnamon or allspice, but this is not standard.

Tree of Indian bay-leaf

Indian bay-leaves are very popular in the Terai plains of South­ern Nepal. Cooking in the Tarai is basically a mild version of North Indian cuisine, and Indian bay­leaves are a key flavour to the many veg­etarian curries of that area, par­ticu­larly the Mithila region around Janak­pur. I found the highest con­cen­tra­tion of them in potato curries. The Indian Bay-leaves are also known and used in the moun­tains of North-Eastern India, bordering Burma. There, they are often sold fresh.

Since Indian bay leaves were hardly available in the West bevor the turn of the millennium, most older books encourage the use of laurel (the Mediterranean bay leaf) instead. Though looking similar, the taste is very different, and also weaker. The best substitutes are cinnamon leaves or fresh cardamom leaves, but these are also not easy to come by. I prefer the South American boldo leaves: although their flavour is rather different, it is at least strong enough for the highly spiced Moghul foods. Easier and still satisfactory substitutes are a small piece of cinnamon bark or a dried allspice berry.