Degchi
Tej patta (bay leaf)
Also written: bay leaf, tejpata, tezpatta, Indian bay leaf
- Urduتیز پتہ
- Hindiतेज पत्ता
- Banglaতেজপাতা
Tej patta is the dried bay leaf, sold in packets and used whole. It adds a mild, slightly woody background note rather than a loud flavour, and you rarely taste it by itself.
It goes in at the start with the other whole spices. Beef Bhuna and Hasher Mangsho fry it with sliced onion until the onion is deep golden. Morog Polao puts it in with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves for 30 seconds, and Chicken Pulao adds it to the pot with ginger-garlic paste before the chicken. It also turns up in Payesh, where it simmers in the milk for 5 minutes before the rice goes in.
Add it to hot oil or ghee, or straight into the liquid, and let it sit. It does not soften, so it stays leathery even after an hour of cooking. Fish it out before serving, or tell guests to leave it on the side of the plate.
Leaves that are brittle and nearly scentless are old. Break one and smell it; if you can barely detect anything, replace the packet.
Recipes that use it
15 of our 247 recipes call for tej patta (bay leaf). Here are a few to start with.
- Beef Bhuna
- Hasher Mangsho (Duck Curry)
- Morog Polao
- Chicken Pulao
- Payesh (Bengali Rice Pudding)
- Bhuna Khichuri