Banana leaf meal

Rice and curry served on a banana leaf in Kuala Lumpur's Little India. Down the block, men were patting nan into the sides of tandoors set right out onto the street, but it had been too long since my last Tamil vegetarian meal!

Right after I ordered a fresh rectangle of banana leaf was placed in front of me, then in swift succession men came by with metal buckets ladling out their ingredients: curd rice, a little sweet, pickle, and appalam; plain boiled rice; potato curry, carrot curry, bean curry; and after I took the picture, three dals ladelled onto the rice - one with whole shallots, one with whole cloves of garlic, and a third liquidy one that blended into the tasty whole.

The waiters kept circling offering more food, and one in particular was playful about it. When I wanted "a little more rice", he gave me about 6 grains, then pulled back his scoop and just looked at me, waggling his head from side to side keeping the smile from his mouth but not from his eyes. Later when I was done, he came up and defiantly put one more sweet, smooth garlic clove into the centre of my leaf as if defying me not to eat it.

Everything was perfectly delicious (and not at all spicy - have I been chile-proofed by Thailand or is South Indian food less hot than it used to be??), so I had to get some laddu to go, too.