Thali: Difference between revisions

[[File:Vegetarian Curry.jpeg|thumb|[[North Indian cuisine|North Indian style]] vegetarian ''thali'' served in a restaurant]]

 

 

== History ==

This dining and serving etiquette from [[Sushruta Samhita]] is also adopted in medieval Indian cookbooks with some variations.<ref>"Lokopakara" Agri-History Bulletin No. 6 - (Trans) Ayangarya, Y. L. Nene, Nalini Sadhale, Valmiki Sreenivasa (Trans), 2004</ref>

 

 

{{blockquote|''"He should sit on a cushioned seat facing east and spread a white cloth on the lap covering from navel to knees. His food should be served in a big plate made of gold. Many small bowls which are first cleaned with water and wiped dry with a white cloth should be placed with the plate."''}}

 

In Ayurvedic tradition, six tastes known as ''Shadrasa'' is used to classify foods according to their qualities for ideal meal. These six tastes include; sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, astringent. Thali presentation often includes all six of these flavors.<ref>Textbook of Ayurveda - Book 1 - Page 310, Vasant Lad · 2002</ref>

====Foreign accounts====

Greek ambassador [[Indica (Megasthenes)|Megasthenes]]<ref>Gochberg, Donald S., et al., ed. "World Literature and Thought: Volume I: The Ancient Worlds"; Fort Worth, TX; Harcourt Brace; 1997, pp. 410-416.</ref> in his work ''[[Indica (Megasthenes)|Indica]]'' notes the dining manners of [[Mauryan Empire]] court:

Portuguese ambassador [[Duarte Barbosa]] in coastal trading town of [[Kozhikode]] in Kerala notes the way local chieftains dined:<ref>The Book of Duarte Barbosa: Including the coasts of Malabar, eastern India, further India, China, and the Indian archipelago by Duarte Barbosa, Mansel Longworth Dames, Fernão de Magalhães, page 89, 1989.</ref>

 

 

Meera Mukherjee suggests tripod or three-footed stool may have been similar to ''"Mukkali"'' stool, a type of vernacular furniture more commonly found in southern parts of India.<ref>Craftsmen of India - Volume 44 - Page 395, Meera Mukherjee, 1978</ref> While Chowki, Palagai or Bajot, a four-legged stool are more commonly used with thali today.

== Thali/Bhojanam meal ==

[[File:Indian Thali.jpg|thumb|Vegetarian Thali served in a restaurant with rice and various side-dish.]]

[[File:Detail of Mewar painting manuscript, ca.1712.jpg|thumb|Man eating from [[Patravali]], ca. 1712]]

Dishes served in a thali vary from region to region in the Indian subcontinent and are usually served in small bowls, called ''katori'' in India. These katoris are placed along the edge of the round tray, the actual thali; sometimes a steel tray with multiple compartments is used. Typical dishes include rice, [[dal]], vegetables, [[roti]], [[papad]], [[dahi (curd)|dahi]] (yogurt), small amounts of [[chutney]] or [[South Asian pickles|pickle]], and a sweet dish.<ref>[http://spicythali.blogspot.com/2011/06/decording-indian-cuisine.html "Decording Indian Cuisine"], in [http://spicythali.blogspot.com ''Spicy Thali''] blog, 26 June 2011. (Entry. Retrieved 3 June 2012)</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The world on a plate |publisher=Vancouver Sun |page=G1 |author=Andrew Marshall| date=February 15, 2020}}</ref> Rice or roti is the usual main dish that occupies the central portion of the thali, while side dishes like vegetable curries and other aforementioned delicacies are lined circularly along the round thali. Depending on the restaurant or the region, the thali consists of delicacies native to that region. In general, a thali begins with different types of breads such as [[Puri (food)|puri]]s or chapatis ([[roti]]s) and different vegetarian specialities ([[Curry|curries]]). However, in South India and Southeast Asia, rice is the only staple served with bhojanams. Thalis or Bhojanams are sometimes referred to by the regional characteristic of the dishes they contain. For example, one may encounter [[Andhra cuisine|Andhra]] bhojanam, [[Nepalese cuisine|Nepalese]] thali, [[Rajasthani cuisine|Rajasthani]] thali, [[Gujarati cuisine|Gujarati]] thali, [[Maharashtrian cuisine|Maharashtrian]] thali, [[Manipuri cuisine|Manipuri]] chakluk, [[Tamil cuisine|Tamil]] unavu and [[Thai cuisine|Thai]] unavu. In many parts of [[South Asia]], [[Southeast Asia]] and the [[Caribbean]], the bread and the rice portions are not served together in the thali. Typically, the bread is offered first with rice being served afterwards, often in a separate bowl or dish.

* [[Banchan]]

* [[Combination plate]]

* [[Indian cuisine]]

* [[Kamayan]]

* [[Korean table d'hôte]]

* [[Meze]]

* [[Platter (dinner)]]

* [[Rice and three]]

* [[Sadya]]

* [[Zakuski]]

{{div col end}}

* {{Citation |url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/supplementary/sunday-chronicle/scientific-indian-thali-930 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920022153/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/supplementary/sunday-chronicle/scientific-indian-thali-930 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 September 2010 |title=The scientific Indian thali |work=[[Deccan Chronicle]] |date=2 May 2010 |first=Naini |last=Setalvad }}.

 

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