Spice no. 14
Tamal Patra is a Sanskrit name of the fragrant leaf derived from the Cinnamomum species. In English is called Indian bay leaf and that causes confusion. Both are different species. Tamal Patra is reminiscent of Cinnamon and clove while Bay leaf which is botanically Laurus nobilis is pine like with bitter notes. This happened due to the colonizers rediscovering these spices and naming them as spices they knew from old records.
Bay leaf is found in Sikkim and north east area and the Himalayan region of Nepal and parts Burma. However is is collected from wild trees than systematically grown trees. Hence the quality is random.
Tamal patra is associated in a big way with garam masala and therefore meat. No wonder that it features so much in Mughal culinary whether it is the biryani, qorma or the pulaos. The Bengali, Mithila and North and North Eastern used these leaves since ever but the West of India was introduced to it only recently.
Tej patta while it is popular as a spice it is extremely popular as a perfume. So a large percentage of the world's production of Tej patta is used for perfumery.
Yet again we know that Mumbai's strategic location as a port is what made spices available in this region.
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