Banana leaf rice
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

History

Banana leaf rice arrived with South Indian, largely Tamil, migrants who came to British Malaya in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to work plantations and railways. The leaf serves as plate, and a meal of rice, vegetable poriyal, rasam, pickle and papadum is set out in a fixed order, with curries of chicken, mutton or fish ladled on request. In Kuala Lumpur the tradition lives in Brickfields, the city's Little India, where Sri Paandi on Jalan Tun Sambanthan serves from 09:00 until 23:30 most days, and in Bangsar, where Devi's Corner and Sri Nirwana Maju draw a mixed office crowd. Eat with the right hand, and fold the leaf toward you when you are done.

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Common allergens: Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 1 hrTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 400g white rice
  • 4 banana leaves, wiped clean
  • 300g cabbage, shredded
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 sprig curry leaves, 2 dried chillies
  • 2 tbsp grated coconut
  • 250g toor dal
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp rasam powder or 1 tsp each cumin and black pepper
  • 1 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 4 papadums
  • Lime pickle
  • Oil and salt

Method

  1. Cook the rice and keep it warm.
  2. For the poriyal, fry the mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried chillies in oil until they pop, add the cabbage and salt and stir-fry 6 minutes; finish with the coconut.
  3. Boil the dal with turmeric in 1 litre of water for 30 minutes until soft, then mash it.
  4. For the rasam, simmer the tomatoes, tamarind, rasam powder and 600ml water for 10 minutes and temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves.
  5. Fry the papadums in hot oil for a few seconds each until they puff.
  6. Lay a banana leaf in front of each diner, add rice in the centre, the vegetables and pickle along the top, and pour dal and rasam over the rice.

Tip from the editors. Pass the leaves quickly over a gas flame first; they soften, turn glossy and stop splitting under hot rice.

Where to eat banana leaf rice

Banana leaf rice in Kuala Lumpur

Sri Paandi ★ 4.1

$ IndianBrickfields

Sri Paandi serves banana leaf rice in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, from 09:00 until 23:30 most days, with a dry mutton curry that regulars order by name.

OrderOrder the banana leaf rice with dry mutton curry, the dish regulars come back for.

TipThe dry curries are the strength here, ask for extra on the rice rather than the wetter gravies.

Directions

Devi's Corner ★ 3.9

$ IndianBangsar

Devi's Corner, serving banana leaf rice in Bangsar since 1997 and known for its crab curry, has reopened on Jalan Telawi 3 in Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

OrderOrder the banana leaf set with the house crab curry and a chicken 65 on the side.

TipSatti sooru is cooked to order in a claypot, so allow about 20 minutes; leaf sets come with unlimited refills.

Directions

Sri Nirwana Maju ★ 4.2

$ IndianBangsar

Sri Nirwana Maju serves banana leaf rice for long hours on Jalan Telawi in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, a long standing fixture of the neighbourhood.

OrderOrder the banana leaf rice with fried squid, the combination regulars keep coming back for.

TipIt serves from 11:30 until 23:00 every day, a reliable late option after an evening out in Bangsar.

Directions

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