Tejpat / Indian bay leaf / Cinnamomum tamala

I'm looking for advice on the use of this herb.

Pearl barely mentioned it in a couple of her "concept cooking" threads: https://permies.com/t/268915/Concept-cooking-Soups#2820961 and https://permies.com/t/247233/Concept-cooking-meat-rant-words

This might also help: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamomum_tamala

Anyway, I found some online. It smells nice in the package. I threw three big leaves into a pot of rice to see how the flavor works on something fairly neutral. It turns out there's almost no flavor in the rice. Looking at the instructions on the back of the bag (which I'm wary of after they call it Mediterranean bay laurel) I wonder if I should have sauteed it (or maybe toasted it) before cooking it into the rice.

Who knows how to use this stuff? What do you do with it?

I LOVE it. One of the neatest spices I have tripped over in a long time.

Sauteeing it lightly might help.
When I use it for rice I put it with other calm tasting herbs, heat them in oil, add salted stock, then the rice. I don't ever cook rice in non-salted liquid, I don't know if that might be part of why yours was bland or not. Three leaves would be easily enough for 4-6 cups of rice, if you were making a gallon, you might want to add more.

I have been adding it to beef soups too: beef broth, this, star anise and caraway is excellent together.

Goes well in herbal teas too.

It's a very light smooth flavor, not heavy.

Take the leaves out before serving any food with it, they are not really something you want to eat. Not toxic, just... like bay leaf, not easy to eat or desirable.

Not me... but I consulted with my DiL:

I use it more or less how Pearl put it in her comment. I think part of the issue is the leaves being commercially processed - fresh, home dried bay leaves will likely have more aroma. The OP can also try using curry leaves - stronger flavour in those.

I use bay leaves in rice and curries.
I haven’t used curry leaves yet but they will definitely go nicely in curries (their name should lend that) and if you ar sautéing veggies. Process should be similar- sauté the leaves in hot oil first to help them release their flavour.
I also just saw a recipe for South Indian Chicken Masala and the chef has used curry leaves to make marinating sauce for the chicken. So I guess you can make a sauce out of curry leaves. Maybe they can be added to chutneys too!

I have used home dried Portuguese Laurel. Many stew recipes call for them. I'm not convinced they provide a discernable flavor of their own, but they more help other flavors be enhanced or melded unlike some much more distinct flavors.  

Well, oil-toasting the leaves with cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, cardamom, and some Chiles before making the rice certainly turned out some yummy rice, but it’s hard to pick out subtle constituent flavors. I’ll have to try this with just the tejpat.

Great thread.  I have a bag of the stuff. I had no idea what it was.

When I lived in Bangladesh years ago, this was everywhere and we had a tree in our yard.  There, it is a major spice in chai tea.  The other spices are cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom.  But I know elsewhere in the region different spices are put in the tea and perhaps tejpat isn't so much.  At least in tea/chai, it is very different than Mediterranean bayleaf, and I'm always glad when I find a reliable source.  Even some Indian groceries will mislabel and confuse the two.  Real tejpat always has the three main veins running the length of the leaves, whereas the Mediterranean and California bays just have one (and usually much smaller leaves).

Excuse me. I located the bag. It certainly is 1/2 bay leaves.  It is labeled: Garam Masala Whole.  It also contains cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, and large cardamom.  Can anyone tell me what it is for?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garam_masala

You can do anything with it.

I'd suggest toasting it on cast iron and then making rice with the toasted garam masala mixed in during cooking. You can also grind it up with coconut or peanuts and pumpkin to make stew. Or fry/simmer potatoes and cauliflower with some of that and as much or little chiles as you like.