(Gerry Furth-Sides) Pulao Rice, which you may know as pilaf, is a dish with stock as a base, all cooked in one pot and served right away piping hot. Spices and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat are added along the way. Cooks need to use a very special technique while preparing the sumptuous dish so that the grains do not stick to one another.

At BananaLeaf, Executive chef-owner, Sri Sambangi also had a special pressure cooker pot straight from India. The nutritious rice dish is served piping hot at the table .

The pilaf or pulao may be new to Los Angeles, but this timeless classic goes back to ancient times. It traveled to many parts of the world, where it was always popular. The route extended through central Asia, in the old Persian empire, the Ionian (Greek) world and in the later Ottoman empire and all its parts.

Banana Leaf is so well known for Biryani and now has 20 different versions of it, including dum biryani and mandi biryani. So what’s the difference between Pulao and Biryani?

Pulao is prepared using what is known as the absorption method. This means that water or stock is completely absorbed by the rice and vegetables in the dish. Biryani is prepared using the draining method of cooking. It is par-boiled in water, and then drained, dried and then layered up in the pot and covered.

In India, pulao is a mixture of lentils, vegetables, meat, and rice. It is incorporated with spices like bay leaves, nutmeg, cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon. The entire dish has a parallel to dum biryani because of the cooking method in a sealed put, the pulao in the pressure cooker to make the time so much faster than cooking over the low heat of a stove overnight.

High energy founder-owner Sri Sambangi created a happy and delicious experience both here and the more bustling, tiny Culver City flagship) with this more spacious spot so beautifully managed.

Please read the story about how Banana Leaf added a location to their Culver city flagship in https://localfoodeater.com/southern-cuisine-banana-leaf-moves-north/

Banana Leaf,    (www.bananaleafla.com)                

 701 W. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Suite 107, Los Angeles, CA 90012,  (213) 372-5590

10408 Venice Blvd Suite: B, Culver City, CA 90232, (310) 838.2130

2302 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA 90278, (424) 247-9710

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