A man in Malaysia has gone viral for feeding several stray dogs home-cooked turmeric rice served atop banana leaves.

The dogs' meal bears a close resemblance to the Indian dish, banana leaf rice, giving the impression that the dogs are feasting on banana leaf rice.

Rice spread on banana leaves

A video of the dogs enjoying the banana leaf rice prepared by Maran Archunan has gone viral on TikTok recently, garnering over 750,000 views and close to 25,000 likes as of the time of writing.

In the video, Maran could be seen pulling several banana leaves from the boot of his car and laying them on the ground as several dogs ran towards him.

There were close to ten dogs in the video, and they all appeared eager to see Maran, their tails wagging high in the air.

Some dogs patiently waited near the banana leaves for the food to be served, while others excitedly leapt up the car boot to be closer to the pots of food within.

The dogs could be seen scarfing down the rice almost as soon as Maran started ladling them from the pot onto the banana leaves.

One dog ignored the spread and went straight to the food source, sticking its snout directly into the pot of rice.

@datodrmaranarchunan #straydog #dog #feedingtime #malaysiaanimalassociation #humanitystillexists #foodforall ♬ original sound - சாய்தேவி Saidevi 7704🇲🇾

Feeding dogs for three years

The familiarity that the stray dogs have with Maran, and vice versa, is clear as day.

Maran has been caring for the dogs for some time now, as seen from his TikTok account (@datodrmaranarchunan).

There are videos upon videos of him preparing and serving the dogs banana leaf rice, with the earliest dating back to Jan. 3, 2023.

From cooking the meals, driving the finished pots of food out to the dogs, to ladling it out on the banana leaves, Maran involves himself in the process from start to finish,

Maran shared that the rice has a yellow tinge as he boils it with turmeric with some type of protein such as minced chicken.

However, Maran has been feeding the stray dogs that roam around the industrial area near his home in Rembia, Melaka in Malaysia for much longer.

Maran told Malaysian media outlet World of Buzz that he started feeding the dogs after observing that many of them were looking for food.

"I started to feed them from that moment on, and I’ve continued since," said Maran, who has been feeding the strays for the past three years.

Majority of feedback positive

Most individuals have responded positively to Maran's videos, commending him for his kindness towards the strays.

Some praised his choice of serving the rice on banana leaves, saying that it is environmentally friendly.

One individual said that dogs should not be fed food meant for humans, such as banana leaf rice, as it may contain ingredients that can cause them to fall ill.

Salt, for instance, can lead to a dog suffering dehydration, salt poisoning, or even kidney disease when ingested in excessive amounts.

Maran responded, clarifying that its just rice boiled with chicken and turmeric. He also told another individual that he does not add salt or curry to the rice.

Top image from @datodrmaranarchunan/TikTok