Thali.. a plate of experience.
It is said that on every corners of India, the food eaten varies in its making and taste. So, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Nagaland, you will be awestruck to find a culturally rich meal cooked with the flavors of the locale. No matter where you travel across India, you will always find a thali meal waiting for you. A thali is basically a ashet of disparate delicacies–right from starters to the main course and dessert.
Different Indian Thalis-
A thali is basically a ashet of disparate delicacies–right from starters to the main course and dessert. The classic Indian thali is a cultural safari on a plate. A complete meal in itself- a thali packs in small portions of a gobs of dishes on one ashet.
Each zone has its own take on the thali and as you walk from one zone to another, you’ll be greeted with a new ashet, with its own vast servings of menu. That makes the thali, where you get to eat a little bit of everything, the best way to explore any regional local cuisine.
India is fond of food. They love meals made rich and heavy by extra dollops of ghee and the local spices. Also, the meals are generally washed down with a tall glass of fresh lassi/ sulaimani tea/kokum/fresh lime juice.
The natives of Rajasthan, known as India’s royalty and culinary skills. They do not lag behind when it comes to food. So, Rajasthani thali that serves gatte ki sabzi, ker sangri, kachori, dal bati churma, ghevar and much more.
The region devoted to vegetarianism. Gujarati meals use a lot of sugar and the basic part of the Gujarati thali meal are thepla, khandvi, dhokla, puran-poli, dal-dhokli, chevdoh, hari and khakhra, undhiyu, khaman, bhusu, fafda & jelebi.
The love of adding a good amount of spiciness in their food. The bhajis are usually made using fish chicken. This thali uses many kinds of pickles to inflate its spiciness. Batatyachi bhaji, vaangyache bharit, danyachi usal, varan bhaat (rice), aamras, puri, puran poli and many other bits form a Maharashtrian thali.
The Bengalis love mingling their food adoringly in sweet and spicy flavors. Fish is an main part of their thali meals, and so is mutton. Aloo bhaja, kumro bhaja, potol bhaja, begun bhaja, torkari, dal, chutney and payesh are the delicacies served in the Bengali thali. Of course, we can’t miss the saundesh, rosogolla, and mishti doi are the mouth-watering desserts.
A clichéd Keralan thali is called sadya. It is an assorted meal cooked and eaten during Onam, weddings and other festive occasions. It is plated on a banana leaf and it consist of rice, sambar, curd, kosumri, kootu and payasam. All of these dishes are majorly cooked using coconut oil, curry leaves, mustard seeds, milk, jaggery and ghee.
The royal looking and beautifully tasteful thali of Kashmir. This thali forms with rogan josh, Gushtaba, and yakhni. They also have different pieces of bread for every season. Wazwan is a most popular assorted meal of Kashmir.
Aside from all the dissimilarities, it’s the food that binds us all. ‘Thali’ is the personification of ‘cultural journey’ on a plate.
