This was my first attempt at a home made Indian thali constituting all elements that make a thali look and feel king-size and makes one keep thinking " how on earth am I going to get through this entire meal"!! FYI for those of you who are wondering what a thali is- I would not bother with a fancy explanation but rather simple- when you order a thali in a restaurant, you can expect a fairly large plate (usually of some metal- steel or copper), neatly organized with multiple bowls of food!!
In this post I want to take you back to my childhood days and the memories I had of ordering set thali meals at restaurants. With a twist in items on my thali (to suit my husband's taste) I have tried to include all the key elements that any good thali should have. There has been a lot of research that has gone in to what these requirements should be, so read on to be enlightened on what and why exactly each of these dishes have been selected.
The history of a thali may sometimes be connected to ancient displays of prosperity. Since inception, one of the ways for the rich to show off their wealth was through the variety of food served in their kitchens. The underprivileged could barely scrape together a meal a day and only dreamed of such perks. Nowadays one can get a thali from a varying price range in restaurants and it can constitute anything between 10 to an overwhelming 50 plus items.
As you can see in the image above, I kept the elements of my thali very basic and the serving portions just enough to ensure one is not left feeling too stuffed.
The image on the left explains in detail what the names of the dishes were and a small description of the same.
What I want to now focus on is why were these selected, so that you can benefit from this and create your own thali just ensuring the basic elements are considered.
What constitutes a delicious thali, remaining easy on the tummy?
The Appetizers are usually something deep fried, in my case, I chose deep fried egg plant and deep fried fish- both taking me back to basic dishes in Kolkata (my home city).
As an accessory, I chose an oven baked papadum (which I could never resist as a small child) and lonka (for all of us from Bengal) or green chilies (for everyone else). One could go with onions, different types of pickles, yoghurt dip, etc.
Rice and breads are a staple for any Indian thali (be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian. You could opt for basic rice dishes to more fancier biryanis depending on your mood and with the breads, usually a simple tawa roti does wonders when the rest of the food is so rich.
The mains which are usually the prominent items placed in the multiple small bowls, can range from vegetarian to non vegetarian items but again smartly being chosen to ensure one enjoys their meal and doesn't merely fall sick! By rule of thumb, you should try and include ingredients that have something sour, salty, bitter, sweet, pungent and acidic.
There is always a dessert to end your thali and a drink that usually acts as a cooling agent for the tummy after all the food that goes down!! You can see I chose a lime juice with black salt, here the lemon and salt both aid digestion.
In Summary
I hope this post helped you get the basics of what any simple, yet tasty thali should constitute and I trust you enjoyed learning about what I chose for my home made thali menu. Do write in as usual for your feedback and interest in anything food related :)
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