Banana Leaf Indian Cuisine will open later this month on the West Shore with a menu of authentic, homestyle Indian foods.
The restaurant is scheduled to open June 24 at 6520 Carlisle Pike in Silver Spring Township in a former flower shop near Wal-Mart. It will specialize in regional Indian foods prepared by franchise owner Vanamala Bharata, a caterer.
"She is a very good, experienced cook who is well-known in the community," said Venkat Reddy, co-owner of Deccan Spice and a Cumberland County resident. "Her main thing is traditional Indian food, not Americanized Indian food."
Deccan Spice is an Indian franchise food company that operates restaurants in New York City, Tampa, Florida, New York City and San Francisco. The company is assisting Bharata with the restaurant.
"She can cook to the taste and spice level of the local palate and has mastered that," Reddy added.
Banana Leaf will serve diners and also cater large events such as weddings. The kitchen is being constructed to accommodate massive amounts of cooking, he said.
The menu will be comprised of mostly vegan and vegetarian dishes but there will be a section dedicated to non-vegetarian dishes such as tandoori chicken, lamb chops and goat biryani, Reddy said.
"We sell a lot of Indian street food from both North and South Indian," he added.
Vegetarian dishes will include channa masala made from chickpeas in an onion gravy; tadka dal with yellow lentils blended with tomatoes, herbs and onions; kaju curry with cashews cooked in a cream sauce; and several biryani dishes.
A specialty menu of home style dishes such as lamb will require at least a 12-hour lead time to order due to the fact the foods will take longer to prepare, Reddy said.
Diners also will have the option to choose from a daily selection of about nine different prepared curries for takeout. Customers can add their own starch and bread at home, Reddy said.
They also will sell prepackaged plates of food to give customers an opportunity to sample different foods. They will be priced at $5.99 to $9.99.
For a sweet finish, Vadilal brand ice cream treats will fill a cooler case and be a part of Banana Leaf's inventory along with milkshakes made from fruits such as sugar apple and cheeko.
Prices will range from $7.99 to about $11.99. Banana Leaf will be open 11 a.m.- midnight, daily.