Cultural Lexington
The cuisine of South Indian culture focuses on agriculture and growing crops. Farmers always select plants and techniques that will produce a profitable harvest. Each village works as a team where families help in the field in order to survive to produce enough crops to support its population (Beals 64).
Agriculture in South India focuses on fresh fruits, vegetables and grains, such as rice because of its hot, humid climate with an abundance of rain. Many South Indians are vegetarians and worship the cattle who are solely used for plowing the fields. However, they do raise goat and sheep for meat, rarely for milk (Beals 75).
Indian food is traditionally eaten by hand in which a banana leaf serves as a dinner plate where "each customer gets a leaf with a scoop of rice surrounded by vegetable, dhal, curries, papadam, yogurt, and rasam" (Koh 100).
102 W. High St. Lexington, KY 40507
RESERVATIONS
Phone: (859) 252-9595
OPENING HOURS
Wednesday-Monday 11:30AM-10PM
Tuesday 5PM-10PM
My Experience
One of the very few authentic South Indian style restaurants in Lexington is Banana Leaf. They serve South Indian and Malaysian cuisine. It is a small, cozy restaurant that is family owned and operated. The workers and owners are all friendly and make each customer feel at home. The restaurant is painted with bright yellow walls with modern tables and seating. The walls are plastered with South Indian emblems and decorations. The sheer curtains hang over the windows to provide the restaurant dim lighting. The small room gives this restaurant a home style ambiance, similar to many of the homes and restaurants in South India and Malaysia.
From the outside, the cracked walls and slightly dirty windows give the restaurant an ordinary appeal just like all the other buildings on the street; yet it offers so much more inside that a passer-by would not recognize. Opening the doors, the sweet scent of slowly warmed coconut milk mixed with the smell of freshly cut and cooked tropical fruits and vegetables give this restaurant a unique fashion that Lexington has not seen before.
What Others Think
Banana Leaf
"Banana Leaf is not only extremely unique, but also a high quality establishment.... it is not traditional indian food, but instead Southern Indian and Malaysian cuisine. their speciality are the Dosas.... the hot masala tea they offer is also quite delicious...."
- Nate
"....The older gentleman who waited on us was very nice. He gushed over our baby and she loved the attention. We told him we were in a hurry and he was very accomodating, and even brought us some pakora on the house while we waited for our meal...."
- lexkymom
"....I enjoyed the lamb korma, a dish prepared with cashews and raisins. It is served with a long grain rice.... The flavor was spicy, rich, and slightly sweet, but none of which were at an overwhelming level. It was perfectly balanced."
-Travis
"I love the smell when I enter, it reminds me of the Indian family I used to live with.... I have had the chicken tikka masala, lamb rojanjosh, and the bindi masala. The naan is great and the old man taking orders is fun to interact with. I will definitely be back to try more dishes."
-Tara Simpson
For full comments and more reviews, click here to visit urbanspoon.com
South Indian Culture
Malaysian Culture
Malaysian cuisine, like South Indian, almost always includes rice. Some featured ingredients of this culture include fresh tropical fruits, seafood, and chilies and curries that shape many of the spices found in the dishes. Just like rice, Coconut milk is a main staple in dishes used to add smoothness to curries and many other dishes. This culture also serves many dishes with poultry, pork and goat (Taste the Fruits of Malaysia).
Works Cited
Banana Leaf. N.d. Photograph. Http://indianfoodinlexingtonky.com/Banana/index.html, Lexington.
Beals, Alan Robin. Village Life in South India. Chicago: Aldine, 1974. Print.
Koh, Jaime, and Stephanie Ho. Culture and Customs of Singapore and Malaysia. Santa Barbara: Greenwood, 2009. Print.
N.d. Photograph. Http://indianfoodinlexingtonky.com/Banana/index.html, Lexington.
"Taste the Fruits of Malaysia." Geographia.com. InterKnowledge Corp, 2006. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.geographia.com/malaysia/cuisine.html>.