Thali

vegetarian thali served in a restaurant Thali ( , , meaning "plate" or "tray") or bhojanam ( , , meaning "full meal") is a round platter used to serve food in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Thali is also used to refer to an Indian-style meal made up of a selection of various dishes which are served on a platter. Thali is also used in South Asia for ceremonial purposes.

vegetarian thali served in a restaurant Thali ( , , meaning "plate" or "tray") or bhojanam ( , , meaning "full meal") is a round platter used to serve food in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Thali is also used to refer to an Indian-style meal made up of a selection of various dishes which are served on a platter. Thali is also used in South Asia for ceremonial purposes. ===Early history=== According to archeologist Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha, dish-on-stand and simple dishes belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization may be regarded as the prototype of Indian dishes as thalis but these do not have accompanying bowls commonly seen with thalis. According to Sinha the distinctive thali accompanying bowls instead appears in the Painted Grey Ware culture. Archeologist B.B. Lal similarly suggests food was eaten from the Painted Grey Ware dishes and bowls. B.B Lal notes that "typical dinner set in the Painted Grey Ware consists of the thali (dish), katora (bowl) and lota (drinking vessel)," he suggests it highlights the tradition followed today. Earliest textual sources on thali comes from Ayurveda Samhitas, Sangam and medieval period Indian cookbooks. A chapter in ancient Sushruta Samhita text is dedicated to dining etiquette, method of serving food and proper placement of each dish before the diner, it is the earliest known textual evidence on thali presentation. This dining and serving etiquette from Sushruta Samhita is also adopted in medieval Indian cookbooks with some variations. The Manasollasa texts chapter Annabhoga describes dining etiquette, method of serving food and the way in which district officers and other nobles should be treated at dinner in the court. The Ksemakutuhalam culinary text advises the cook to serve boiled rice in the middle of the plate. Pulse, meat, vegetables and fish are placed (in that order) on the right, and broths, drinks, water and pickles on the left. 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. ====Foreign accounts==== Greek ambassador Megasthenes in his work Indica notes the dining manners of Mauryan Empire court: Portuguese ambassador Domingo Paes who visited the court of Vijayanagar Empire notes: Portuguese ambassador Duarte Barbosa in coastal trading town of Kozhikode in Kerala notes the way local chieftains dined: 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. While Chowki, Palagai or Bajot, a four-legged stool are more commonly used with thali today. ====Kansa metal==== Thalis are traditionally made with Kansa metal, a mixture of copper and tin. Although it is similar to bronze, Kansa has higher tin content than bronze. The fifth chapter of the text Rasaratna Samuchaya is dedicated to Kansa with significant information about Kansa kitchenware, diningware and its benefits. ==Affordability== The Economic Survey of India 2020 has a section called Thalinomics, the survey found that the vegetarian thalis became 29% more affordable compared to 2006–07, while non-veg thalis became 18% more affordable. ==See also== Banchan Beyaynetu Combination plate Dim sum Honzen-ryōri Indian cuisine Kamayan Kaiseki Korean table d'hôte Meze Nepali cuisine Platter (dinner) Rice and three Sadya Tapas Zakuski ==References== ==Further reading== .

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