Bay leaves are one of the most important ingredients of ‘Garam Masala’ and is also used as a complete leaf in ‘Tadka’. The long dried leaf used in Indian kitchens is known as Cinnamomum Tamala, Tamal Patra, Tejpatra, Tejpan, Tvakpatra, etc. Tamal Patra is its Sanskrit name which means Dark Leaf. It is used as a flavoring agent.
Bay leaf is also known as laurel leaf. In India, it’s a very popular spice used in pickles, marination, and flavoring in dishes like stew, biryani, and soups. Bay leaves are delicately fragrant but have a bitter taste. They contain approximately 2 percent essential oil, the principal component of which is cineole. The smooth and lustrous dried bay leaves are usually used whole and then removed from the dish after cooking; they are sometimes marketed in powdered form. Bay has been cultivated from ancient times. During the Middle Ages Bay Leaves were used medicinally.
How to Use Bay Leaves?
The uses of bay leaves include grinding the leaves into a spice to flavor the food, but they are most commonly added in their whole form as a flavoring for certain Indian dishes. They are removed from the dish prior to consumption or used as a garnish. Whole leaves are not commonly consumed. There is no extensive range of culinary applications for bay leaves, although extracts of these leaves have numerous medical uses. These leaves are also a popular element in aromatherapy and herbal treatments for various skin and respiratory conditions.
Health Benefits of Bay Leaves
With the wide range of benefits that these powerful leaves offer, it is necessary to include them in your diet. Let us explore them in detail.
- May improve digestion
- Can help relieve respiratory conditions
- May improve hair health
- Anti-inflammatory activity
- Protect heart health
- Reduce anxiety and stress
- Manage diabetes.
Early research shows that taking ground bay leaf twice daily along with medicine for diabetes can lower pre-meal blood sugar levels.
- It may also improve cholesterol levels.
Abnormal levels of cholesterol or blood fats (dyslipidemia). Early research shows that drinking tea made from bay leaves each day for 10 days might slightly increase good cholesterol levels (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL). But it’s unclear if it can improve the levels of other lipids.
- Keep cancer at bay
- Causing sweating.
- Boils.
- Dandruff.
- Disorders affecting bile flow in the liver.
- Gas (flatulence).
- Seizure disorder (epilepsy).
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
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