What is thali?

Nov 27
08:47

2012

Jenny Jonson

Jenny Jonson

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Indians believe in having a wholesome meal. They never hold back when it comes to eating after a hard day's work. A thali is always a part of their diet. For those who still don't know what a thali is, here's a headstart.

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Indians believe in having a wholesome meal. They never hold back when it comes to eating after a hard day's work. A thali is always a part of their diet. For those who still don't know what a thali is,What is thali?  Articles here's a headstart.

A thali is basically referred to a plate with bowls. The plate consists of a variety of food items and sweet dishes. With the thali, water and buttermilk is served too. Indian food consists of a lot of dishes. This article space wouldn't be enough to name the cuisines, let alone the dishes that exist in India. A variety of vegetables, fruits and spices are grown in the country which are used in making innumerable number of dishes. In fact, every region has its own unique diet and unique dishes. Even though there are diverse cultures, every region has also managed to ape the cuisines of other regions. It is this very reason why you would find a South Indian dish in the North of India and vice versa.

The thali is a single platter containing variety of vegetables, curries, rotis, chapatis, puris and sweet dishes in small proportions. This is authentic food at its best. A lot of Indian culture in terms of eating is reflected in the thali. A thali is mostly vegetarian and consists mainly of 5-6 different vegetable preparations and curries accompanied by 2 or sweeter dishes to balance the sweet and spicy elements. Flavours of India can truly be relished only in a thali. The plate basically consists of dishes that are an amalgamation of flavours that reflects India’s pride and honour of food.

The perfect Indian thali consists of a starter that could be bhajiyas, pakoras, kurmura, samosas, kachori etc. It is basically something to munch on before the main course comes in. The main course is a really heavy affair. There are puris, chapatis, naans, curds, four to five different varieties of dry and wet sabzis, rice, dal, papad, salad and the list can still go on. Post that even desserts are served. Now depending on different cuisines, different kinds of thalis exist. A north Indian thali would be way different than the one served in west India. But that also does not mean that you wouldn't get a North Indian thali in west India. Different regions often serve the popular local cuisine for their customers since that is what the customers truly enjoy. If not they also offer other cuisine thalis as per the needs of the customer.

Restaurants serving thali food often serve unlimited thalis for a fixed amount of price. This may sound absurd but they manage to make profits since different people have different appetites. Besides serving thalis only means that they just need to prepare a certain amount of dishes in large quantities every day. Hence, there is no wastage of other vegetables which may not be used in the thali. Thali restaurants are very popular today because a typical Indian rational customer looks for variety and satisfaction. The Indian thali offers them both!