Posted by Kavitha | Foodomania on August 22nd, 2013

A South Indian Thali is made up of a selection of various South Indian dishes.

There really is no “rule” as to what constitutes a Thali (read: Thaalee).

You’re just going to have to fill it up with whatever YOU think makes a complete meal! 

So what would constitute a full meal for you? A salad or hummus? 

Indians are known for having elaborate meals. We have 2 kinds of dry veggies, 1 veggie curry, 2 soupy curries, curd, fried dumplings & fryums, pickles and at least 1 type of sweet.

But there can be more. Like I said – no rule.

Here’s what I made for my “South Indian Thali” –

The dishes in this South Indian Thali are –

1. Rice – Cook any kind of rice you like the way you want. I love simplePonni white rice.
2. Sambar / Kulambu – A delicious soup-like dish made with lentils. There are so many types of Sambar that you can make. This happens to be my favorite. If you don’t want to make Sambar,  you can also make Vathal Kuzhambu.
3. Rasam – Rasam or Saaru is a South Indian soup, traditionally prepared using tamarind juice as a base, with the addition of tomato, and chili pepper, pepper, cumin and other spices as seasonings. {recipe coming soon}
4. Pumpkin Kootu – Kootu is a curry in which vegetables are cooked with lentils. They are liquidy. I have a recipe for Chayote Kootu on my site. Pumpkin Kootu is similar to that.
5. Potato Fry – The best part of Thaali (according to me!) is the potato fry!  I’ve seen this on almost every Thaali I’ve ever eaten. And it tastes amazing with rice! Get the recipe here.
6. Carrot Kosumari – Its a delicious Salad with a south Indian twist. Grated carrot, coconut line juice and a tadka! {recipe coming soon}
7. Medu Vadai – Deep Fried Goodieee! A lentil dumpling. Must -have! Recipe here.
8. Fried Papad – Appalam or Papad is very common in a south Indian meal. Of course, we can’t have deep fried snacks everyday. But once in a while, fried Papad is a wonderful addition to the meal. There’s no recipe. Buy the papad and deep fry!
9. Curd – Curd is plain yogurt. Curd Rice is as required to a south Indian as water is to people!  {How-to post on making curd at home coming soon}
10. Mango Pickle – A pickle adds a kick to the meal. I love the spicy mango avakkai pickle. But use what you have & like!
11. Akkaravadisal – “End every meal with a dessert and you’ll be happy!“. It is not always possible. But if you do decide to have a feast, why not make a sweet too? Akkaravadisal is a sweet made with cooked rice & lentils. {recipe coming soon}. You can make any south Indian sweetof your choice.

Take a large plate and arrange tiny cups on the edge of the plate. Fill each cup with these dishes and serve hot!

This is just to give you an idea of how the Thali is. You can make dishes that you like.

What would you make for your “Thali”? 

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