Thali

What it is

The plate is usually steel, with a rim. The small bowls are called katori. A typical thali has a dal, two or three vegetable dishes, yoghurt or raita, a pickle, a crisp papad, rice, bread and something sweet. In many restaurants the thali is unlimited. Servers walk the room with pots and refill any bowl that looks low until you tell them to stop. In South India the same meal is simply called meals and is often served on a banana leaf.

Regional forms

Every region fills the plate differently. A Gujarati thali is vegetarian and slightly sweet, with thin rotis, kadhi and a sweet served alongside the savoury dishes. A Rajasthani thali is richer, with dal, baked wheat balls and ghee. A Maharashtrian thali may come with a thin sour curry and millet bread. In the south, rice is the centre and comes with sambar, rasam, vegetables and curd. In Nepal the daily plate of rice, lentils and vegetables is called dal bhat.

How it works

You sit, and the plate arrives either full or empty and is filled in front of you. There is no fixed order, but most people start with bread and the drier vegetables, move to rice with dal or curry, and finish with rice and yoghurt. Food is mixed and eaten with the right hand. The price is fixed. In an unlimited thali house, you signal that you are done by covering your plate with your hand or saying bas, enough.

How to do it

1. Wash your hands before sitting. Most thali houses have a basin.
2. Tear bread with your right hand and scoop from the bowls.
3. Mix rice with dal or curry on the plate, a little at a time.
4. Accept refills of what you like and wave away the rest.
5. Finish with yoghurt and rice, or buttermilk, to cool the meal.

Good manners

• Eat with the right hand only. The left stays off the food.
• Do not offer food from your plate to others once you have started eating.
• Take only what you will finish. Leaving food is frowned on.

What is eaten

DalSoupy dish made from split lentils, peas or beans, a staple across South AsiaChapatiUnleavened flatbread cooked on a griddle and served hot with mealsRaitaYogurt mixed with vegetables, fruit or pulses, served as a cooling side dishPapadamThin, crisp flatbread made from lentil or other flours, served as a snack or sideSambarA South Indian lentil and vegetable stew soured with tamarindRasamA spiced, tangy South Indian soup served hot with riceDal bhatLentil soup served with plain rice, a staple meal across South AsiaKadhiYogurt and gram flour soup, often with fritters, from RajasthanPuriUnleavened wheat flatbread, deep-fried until puffed and golden

Sources and further reading

• Thali on Wikipedia
• Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism