I am sure most Indians would have eaten a thali meal at some time or the other. There are so many different varieties of thali meals depending on the region. Here is a list of 13 different kinds of mouthwatering Thali meals from across India. As one person pointed out , Bengali thali has been left out by the writer ! Which would be your favorite thali among the list ?
That's the difference between ordinary wayside food stalls and glamorous Restaurants. Though the quality of the food and the material used are same., an ordinary wayside food stall doesn't bother to add extra paraphernalia like liveried butlers and air conditioners. This is the reason for the vast difference in expenses.
vijay wrote:I too love the taste of various Indian thalis. But I have couple of reservations. One is that even before you have taken your seat the service starts. A large variety of items are put in your thali one after another in small measures. Soon you end up eating only two or three items and are stuffed out to enjoy the unlimited food on offer. The charges are therefore working out to very high compared what quantity one ends up eating.Recently I ate a Gujarati Marwari mix thali in Mumbai and it cost Rs 550/- Too costly. Also in most restaurants the moment you finish you have to vacate because people are waiting. So you end up feeling you had an assembly line like lunch. However filled thalis are very attractive to look at and are appeatising. @Kalyani wrote about Kashmiri Thali in Pune. I am hearing about it first time. Can she elaborate pl.
@Vijay, in Pune you get not exactly a full Kashmiri thali, but there is a great place called The Northern Frontier where you get authentic Kashmiri dishes such as various types of shorba, kababs, fish dishes, and dishes made from lotus stems. The food is really good and delicious, nd there are a nice variety of dishes for vegetarians too.
vijay wrote:I was not talking about the price rise in general but to the fact that at whatever price the thali is sold ,one generally is able to eat proportionately much less than the price being charged. Unlimited is a misnomer.
The term " Unlimited " is being used to draw the eaters. This of course is misnomer. But, many South Indian hotels make it clear what the term " Unlimited" comprises of. Only thing is you have to make it clear before one starts ordering the food. Else you are bound to receive a fat Bill.
vijay wrote:I was not talking about the price rise in general but to the fact that at whatever price the thali is sold ,one generally is able to eat proportionately much less than the price being charged. Unlimited is a misnomer.
I agree with you, this is not possible to eat everything that is served in certain thalis having 50+ items. That is nothing but sheer waste of food. They should rather serve according to choice of customers, but that is my personal opinion only. Personally speaking, I can not eat more than 5-6 vegetables at a time however small the quantity.
Many restaurants have economic thalis that are nutritious ...I travel frequently to Bangalore by day bus and generally the bus stops midway at a way side restaurant called Adigas for lunch which is clean and has a variety of dishes...They serve a thali with chapatis, rice and 2-3 vegetables, sambhar, rasam,curds and a sweet and charge Rs 80 which is good value for money..
There is always an option to choose the food for the customer . You are allowed to pick your food out of the "Unlimited food." This avoids wastage of food. But the cost of the food for Unlimited " food will remain same. In a nutshell whether you eat away all the food in the list or a few of your liking, the cost is the same. This makes many people greedy and go all out and grab all the items in the list and end up as Food Wasters.
This is the practice in Vizag.
By the it's not in the list but in thali itself so people have not much of a choice. The South Indian Thalis are better in this matter as they do not serve too many items but Marwari and Gujarati Thalis are really something to watch. A person like me will feel full at the mere look of them.
Again this is about Vizag restaurants.
Whatever a particular hotel is having for a particular day, it will be displayed in a board along with the rates.. After seeing the board and confirming that the Hotel is having what he needs, the customer will by tickets. This is one way. Another way is , after you sit down immediately a server appears and discloses the things available in a sing song manner.. Here too the eater can have his choice..
rambabu wrote:
Again this is about Vizag restaurants.
Whatever a particular hotel is having for a particular day, it will be displayed in a board along with the rates.. After seeing the board and confirming that the Hotel is having what he needs, the customer will by tickets. This is one way. Another way is , after you sit down immediately a server appears and discloses the things available in a sing song manner.. Here too the eater can have his choice..
Most hotels in all cities have a menu written down in the front ...But a thali remains more or less the same everywhere except that vegetables are different ..
rambabu wrote:
Again this is about Vizag restaurants.
Whatever a particular hotel is having for a particular day, it will be displayed in a board along with the rates.. After seeing the board and confirming that the Hotel is having what he needs, the customer will by tickets. This is one way. Another way is , after you sit down immediately a server appears and discloses the things available in a sing song manner.. Here too the eater can have his choice..
In that case it is not a thali but general system. A Thali contains everything at first serving apart from additional chapatis, rice, Papad, sweets and whatever you ask for but the menu remains same and every dish served at the beginning itself. And they do not allow two persons in one Thali including children over 4-5, that's what is system in most such eating joints in our area..
suni51 wrote:rambabu wrote:
Again this is about Vizag restaurants.
Whatever a particular hotel is having for a particular day, it will be displayed in a board along with the rates.. After seeing the board and confirming that the Hotel is having what he needs, the customer will by tickets. This is one way. Another way is , after you sit down immediately a server appears and discloses the things available in a sing song manner.. Here too the eater can have his choice..
In that case it is not a thali but general system. A Thali contains everything at first serving apart from additional chapatis, rice, Papad, sweets and whatever you ask for but the menu remains same and every dish served at the beginning itself. And they do not allow two persons in one Thali including children over 4-5, that's what is system in most such eating joints in our area..
No it's a Thali. Depending upon the type of restaurant, The thali contents and the rates are clearly specified. For example take a Gujarati hotel. They display all the contents like Pulka, type of veg dishes and the raw vegetables like Muli etc.
Not just us even foreigners who visit India love thali since it is a complete and an affordable meal that can be had all over the country in different forms ..
https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/thalis-and-flying-chapatis/
Of course for a foreigner with an exploring mind who wishes to know all about a country, the eating practices and their specialties will help in throwing light. In this case Thalis of different regions will enable the tourists not only to know about the eating habits of a region, but they can enjoy the cuisine of different regions.
A feast for both his eyes and the tongue.
usha manohar wrote:Not just us even foreigners who visit India love thali since it is a complete and an affordable meal that can be had all over the country in different forms ..
https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/thalis-and-flying-chapatis/
True...foreigners are totally fascinated with Indian food. we often had clients from all over the world, especially UK, who wanted us to take to all kinds of eateries where locals ate food, they did not want the fancy restaurants but wanted to try typical, authentic stuff that local people ate. They even wanted to try out street food in Pune such as Wada Pav, chaats etc. and enjoyed every bite they ate. They especially like sea food that we get in India because the fish and other sea food in Europe and elsewhere is not as tasty as the ones found here. So there is one good place in Pune, called Mahesh Lunch Home, which serves a variety of seafood thalis, where we used to take our clients at least once.
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:usha manohar wrote:Not just us even foreigners who visit India love thali since it is a complete and an affordable meal that can be had all over the country in different forms ..
https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/thalis-and-flying-chapatis/
True...foreigners are totally fascinated with Indian food. we often had clients from all over the world, especially UK, who wanted us to take to all kinds of eateries where locals ate food, they did not want the fancy restaurants but wanted to try typical, authentic stuff that local people ate. They even wanted to try out street food in Pune such as Wada Pav, chaats etc. and enjoyed every bite they ate. They especially like sea food that we get in India because the fish and other sea food in Europe and elsewhere is not as tasty as the ones found here. So there is one good place in Pune, called Mahesh Lunch Home, which serves a variety of seafood thalis, where we used to take our clients at least once.
That sounds lovely ..Although I love all our sea food preparations, I still prefer the continental sea food dishes since they use very little spice, lots of lemon,pepper and herbs and it is far more healthier !
usha manohar wrote:Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:usha manohar wrote:Not just us even foreigners who visit India love thali since it is a complete and an affordable meal that can be had all over the country in different forms ..
https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/thalis-and-flying-chapatis/
True...foreigners are totally fascinated with Indian food. we often had clients from all over the world, especially UK, who wanted us to take to all kinds of eateries where locals ate food, they did not want the fancy restaurants but wanted to try typical, authentic stuff that local people ate. They even wanted to try out street food in Pune such as Wada Pav, chaats etc. and enjoyed every bite they ate. They especially like sea food that we get in India because the fish and other sea food in Europe and elsewhere is not as tasty as the ones found here. So there is one good place in Pune, called Mahesh Lunch Home, which serves a variety of seafood thalis, where we used to take our clients at least once.
That sounds lovely ..Although I love all our sea food preparations, I still prefer the continental sea food dishes since they use very little spice, lots of lemon,pepper and herbs and it is far more healthier !
Yeah Usha, continental dishes are prepared with far less herbs and spices than Indian dishes are but the foreigners claim that the inherent taste of seafood in India is far superior than they have tasted elsewhere. I personally would not know since I have never eaten seafood.
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:usha manohar wrote:Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:usha manohar wrote:Not just us even foreigners who visit India love thali since it is a complete and an affordable meal that can be had all over the country in different forms ..
https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/thalis-and-flying-chapatis/
True...foreigners are totally fascinated with Indian food. we often had clients from all over the world, especially UK, who wanted us to take to all kinds of eateries where locals ate food, they did not want the fancy restaurants but wanted to try typical, authentic stuff that local people ate. They even wanted to try out street food in Pune such as Wada Pav, chaats etc. and enjoyed every bite they ate. They especially like sea food that we get in India because the fish and other sea food in Europe and elsewhere is not as tasty as the ones found here. So there is one good place in Pune, called Mahesh Lunch Home, which serves a variety of seafood thalis, where we used to take our clients at least once.
That sounds lovely ..Although I love all our sea food preparations, I still prefer the continental sea food dishes since they use very little spice, lots of lemon,pepper and herbs and it is far more healthier !
Yeah Usha, continental dishes are prepared with far less herbs and spices than Indian dishes are but the foreigners claim that the inherent taste of seafood in India is far superior than they have tasted elsewhere. I personally would not know since I have never eaten seafood.
That's true Kalyani, I have tasted fish here as well as in UK and other places and tropical fish like Sear fish, Mackerel, Sardines etc are tastier here probably because of the weather. But certain other fish like Salmon and Haddock are tastier there since they are native to that area..
@kiran8