| Indian bay leaf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Semi-dried Indian bay leaves | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Cinnamomum |
| Species: | C. tamala |
| Binomial name | |
| Cinnamomum tamala | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Cinnamomum tamala,Indian bay leaf, also known astejpat,[3]tejapatta,Malabar leaf,Indian bark,[3]Indian cassia,[3] ormalabathrum, is a tree in the familyLauraceae that is native to northernIndia (Assam and theWestern Himalayas),Bangladesh,Nepal,Myanmar,Laos,Vietnam, and southwesternChina.[4][3] It can grow up to 20 m (66 ft) tall.[5] Its leaves have a clove-like aroma with a hint of peppery taste; they are used for culinary and medicinal purposes. It is thought to have been one of the major sources of the medicinal plant leaves known in classic and medieval times asmalabathrum (or malobathrum).[6]
The leaves, known astējapattā ortejpattā (तेजपत्ता) inHindi,tejpāt (तेजपात/তেজপাত) inNepali,Maithili andAssamese,tejpātā (তেজপাতা) inBengali,vazhanayila/edanayila (വഴനയില/എടനഇല) inMalayalam,kaḍu dhālchini (kn:ಕಾಡು ದಾಲ್ಚಿನ್ನಿ) inKannada, andtamalpatra (તમલપત્ર) inGujarati, ortamālpatra (तमालपत्र) inMarathi and in originalSanskrit, are used extensively in the cuisines ofIndia,Nepal, andBhutan, particularly in theMughlai cuisine ofNorth India and Nepal and intsheringma herbal tea in Bhutan. They are calledbiryāni āku/baghāra āku (బిర్యానీ ఆకు/బగార ఆకు) inTelugu andtejåpåtrå/tejåpåtårå (ତେଜପତ୍ର/ତେଜପତର) inOdia.
TheLepcha ofSikkim call themnaap saor koong.[7]
They are often used inkumbilappam or chakka-ada (ചക്ക അട), an authentic sweet from Kerala, infusing their characteristic flavor to the dumplings. They are often labeled as "Indianbay leaves," or just "bay leaf", causing confusion with the leaf from thebay laurel, a tree of Mediterranean origin in a different genus; the appearance and aroma of the two are quite different. Bay laurel leaves are shorter and light- to medium-green in color, with one large vein down the length of the leaf, whiletejpat leaves are about twice as long and wider, usually olive green in color, with three veins down the length of the leaf. There are five types oftejpat leaves[8] and they impart a strong cassia- or cinnamon-like aroma to dishes, while the bay laurel leaf's aroma is more reminiscent of pine and lemon.
The bark is sometimes used for cooking, although it is regarded as inferior totrue cinnamon orcassia.
Malabar had been traditionally used to denote the west coast of Southern India that forms the present-day state ofKerala and adjoining areas. The wordmala ormalaya means "mountain" in theTamil andMalayalam languages, as also in Sanskrit. The word "malabathrum" is thought to have been derived from the Sanskrittamālapattram (तमालपत्त्रम्), literally meaning "dark-tree leaves".
