Banana leaf rice is a typical dish in South Indian cuisine.
In banana leaf rice, white rice (or parboiled rice in authentic South Indian restaurants) is served on a banana leaf with an assortment of vegetables, curried meat or fish, pickles, and/or papadum. Usually, only the gravy of the curry will be served and no meat is served as it is meant to be a traditional Indian vegetarian dish. It is traditionally eaten with the hand.
The banana leaf is used as it is believed that the hot rice will release the coating on the banana leaf, which aids in digestion.
In Malaysia, to show one's appreciation after a satisfying meal, the guest will fold the banana leaf inward to signify that the meal was good. Folding in the opposite direction (i.e. upward or outward) signifies that the meal was not satisfying.
Famous quotes containing the words banana, leaf and/or rice:
“I never liked bananas much anyway. Two-thirds of the way down even one banana I am willing to concede defeat smilingly and give the rest to the nearest monkey.”
—Robert Benchley (18891945)
“... Can poets thought
That springs from body and in body falls
Like this pure jet, now lost amid blue sky,
Now bathing lily leaf and fishs scale,
Be mimicry?”
—William Butler Yeats (18651939)
“The arbitrary division of ones life into weeks and days and hours seemed, on the whole, useless. There was but one day for the men, and that was pay day, and one for the women, and that was rent day. As for the children, every day was theirs, just as it should be in every corner of the world.”
—Alice Caldwell Rice (18701942)