Natarajan Krishnaswami > wrote:
> Grind up the whole dry spices, except for the bay leaf, and add them
> (with the bay leaf) to the oil.

I did a morning of kitchen volunteering for a charity[0] the other weekend,
and one of the other people there made some potatoes roasted with ground up
herbs and spices including bay leaf. The idea is you reduce the bay leaf to
a powder and actually eat it, rather than leaving it whole and picking it
out before you eat. I was intrigued; I'd always thought you couldn't eat
bay leaves. I've not tried this yet, but I think I will.

Kake
[0] Not a vegetarian one, so I won't promote them here; anyone interested
in knowing which one it is can drop me a mail any time though!