Platters /Thalis of India
India is a diversified Country. Not only in languages, clothing or weather but also in the type of food consumed. The foods are largely influenced by the geographical locations and the ingredients grown in the native. Although these days we see foods from all regions everywhere, it is also important to try the local cuisines while travelling.
Here is the list of Platters, generally called as Thalis from all regions of India. Do let us know your experiences with the thalis you have eaten.
Thalis of India
1. Andhra Thali
The cuisine of Andhra Pradesh belongs to two regions-Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra. The food of Andhra Pradesh is very well known for generous use of spices andtamarind.. Seafood is quite common in the coastal regions of the state and rice is the staple food eaten with lentils like dal, called as pappuand sambar and spiced vegetables or curries. Various pickles like avakaya (raw mango) and gongura are quite popular. Curd is a must addition to the meals as a way of mitigating the spiciness.
2. Arunachal Thali
The staple food of Arunachal Pradesh is rice, along with fish, meat and leafy vegetables. Many varieties of rice are used in their cuisines. Lettuce is usually prepared by boiling with ginger, coriander and green chillies.Thupka, a noodle soup is quite common. We also see fish, eggs, beef, chicken, pork and mutton in their cuisine. Apong or rice beer made from fermented rice or millet is consumed as a refreshing drink.
3. Assamese Thali
Assamese cuisine has strong flavours from its extensive use of endemic herbs, fruits, and vegetables that are served fresh, dried or fermented. Fish is widely eaten besides, chickens, ducks, pigeons, snails, silkworms, insects, mutton, pork, venison and turtle. The region’s cuisine involves simple cooking processes like barbecuing, steaming, boiling or fermenting. The meal with home brewed rice beer or rice wine before eating. Main course takes us in a rolle coaster of wide ranges of pH beginning with a khar, an acidic dish and ends with a tenga, a sour dish. Consuming paanconcludes a meal
4. Bengali Thali
Bengal offers much more than Maacharjhol and Rosogulla. Begali platter starts with something bitter, as it has cleansing properties, then followed by dal and rice and then comes fish and meat courses. Paneeris common substitute in vegetarian thalis. Bengali cuisine includes khus-khus, called as posto that is generally ground and added to wide range of vegetables. MishtiDoi, Cham cham, Rosogulla and Sondesh are some of the quite popular sweets of this region.
5. Bhojpuri Thali
Golden brownish sattukaparatha and kalachanna curry would satisfy your hunger pangs when you’re in Bihar like no other dish. After you’re done with eating endless servings of various pakoras, go for quite arange of breads like angakarpoori or paan roti with some not-so-spicy curries.
6. Chattisgarhi Thali
Chhattisgarhi people drink liquor brewed from the Mahuwa flower. Many tribals of the Bastarregion of Chhattisgarh eat mushrooms, squirrels, bamboo pickle, bamboo, vegetables etc., The staple food is rice. Red Ant chutney is another specialty of this region. Coming to non tribal community the most favorite delicacies among them are jelibi, rakhiabadi and pethas .Maize,jowar, wheat are the basic ingredients and not to forget , Chattisgarh is the ” Rice bowl of India”.
7. Goan Thali
Goan cuisine is mostly seafood and meat-based. Staple foods are rice and fish. Kingfish is one of the most common delicacy along with pomfret, shart, tuna and mackerel which are often served with coconut milk. Other common seafoods are the shellfish, which includes, crabs, prawns, tiger prawns, lobsters, squids and mussels. Goan cuisine is generally influenced by Hindu origins and 4 centuries of Portuguese colonialism.
8. Gujarati Thali
Gujarati Thali is completely a vegetarian thali. It is by far the most favorite Thali of people in India. Laden with sweet and spiciness, this Thali offers much more than Dhokla, khandvi and fafda. Kadhi – sweet or sour, dal- sweet and spicy, mildly spicy vegetables, with hot rotis, the plas, dahivadas salad, papads and aachar, this thali puts all your 5 senses to work. Chaas (buttermilk) is a must in gujarati thali, as it aids in digestion. You can choose from Khaman, khandvi or patra as a side dish. Sweets generally include gulabjamun, sheera or shrikhand. These days there are variations in Dhokla as per your desire.
9. Haryanavi Thali
Thisthali primarily comprises of lots of Butter and ghee-mind you, it’s all gharkabana! And it tastes yumm! Be it rotis, dals or curries, they have to be laden with butters and ghee. The food is simple yet robust and Haryana, calld the land of Rotis, boasts of innumerable types of different rotis and parathas. Thalisinclude, Lassi, buttermilk, and thandai. Kadhi with pakore is another delicacy of this region.
10. Jharkhand Thali: 
Jharkhand Cuisine is generally not available at restaurants as they have not yet been commercialized. But the specific dishes of Jharkhand includes Baiganee Chop, a snack made of brinjal slices or eggplant, Thekua , a sweet dish made of sugar, wheat, flour and chopped coconuts., Hadia, a refreshing drink. Oils and spices are not used that frequently, except in preparation of pickles.
11. Kannada Thali
Karnataka Thali includes certain rules about placement of the dishes. Served on a banana leaf with its pointed end towards the left, from top left to right should be salt, pickles and chutney, two kosambaris and two palyas. From bottom, left to right two varieties of rice such as vangibhaat, lemon rice, followed by plain rice with sambhar on top, yogurt Pachadi, Rasam and a sweet dish with buttermilk as an accompaniment.
12. Kashmiri Thali
Highly influenced by the traditional food of the Kashmiri pundits, it has now adopted cooking styles of Central Asia, Persia and Afghanistan. Kashmiri food makes an extensive use of turmeric and yoghurt. Fabulous aromatic flavor of the Kashmiri food is enthralling. Kashmiri dishes make a regular use of dry fruits, especially in the preparation of curries. Kashmiris use ghee to cook meals. Kashmiri rice is aromatic and light and thus the Kashmiri rice pulaois one of the most preferred rice dish by many. The cuisine of Kashmir is truly unique and has absolutely no comparison.
13. Keralite Thali
Keralite Thal iincludes kalan, olan, thoran, more kachiyathu and pachadis served on a banana leaf with pickle and ghee rice.Fish and seafood plays a major role in Kerala cuisine. An everyday Kerala meal in most household consist of Rice with fish curry made of Sardines, Mackerel, Seer fish, King fish, Pomfret, Prawns, Shrimp, Sole fish, anchovy, Parrot Fish etc. Mussels, oysters, crabs, squid, scallops etc. are not rare. As Kerala has large inland water bodies, river fish and lake fishes are abundant, and constitute in regular meals. Coconuts grow in abundance in Kerala, so grated coconut and coconut milk are commonly used for thickening and flavouring in almost all the dishes.
14. Kumaoni Thali
Kumaoni food is very simple but very nutritious which completely suits the hard environment of the Himalayas. Pulses like Gehet(Kulath) are fashioned into different preparations like Ras-Bhaat, Chains, Faanda and Thatwaani and are unique preparations from the same pulse. Jholi or curry seasoned with curd. Chudkani and Joula made from Bhatt pulses.
15. Madhya Pradesh
Dal bafla which is also know as dal baati in rajasthan it’s is similar to dal batti but it prepared in diffrent method and so the taste also differs. Mawakijilebi, Milkshake made of dry fruits,Pulao and Butte kisabzi are the specific and popular dishes of this state.
16. Maharastrian Thali
Maharastrian cuisine has some mildly spiced dishes and they serve lunch or dinner meals in thali.The very traditional dishes served in a thali are puranpoli , bhakri , bhaajis,and some thali’s include Non veg dishes as well. VaranBhaat is a very important part in Marathathali, which is dal with steamed rice. Varanfal is another imporatant dish from Mahrastrawhich is also prepared in Gujarat and rajasthanby the name of dal-dhokli.
17. Manipuri Thali
Manipuri cuisine typically features spicy foods that use chili pepper rather than garam masala. The staple diet consists of rice, leafy vegetables, and fish.Other special delicacies include snails, crabs, eels, etc. A large variety of vegetables are eaten, along with leaves and herbs, bamboo shoots are eaten both fresh and fermented,fermented dry fish, locally known as ngari, is very popular and is used in almost every dish prepared. Fermented soy beans, kangsoi, which is a soup of potatoes, tomatoes, dried fish and other vegetables, prepared without spices. The hill people eat beef and the Muslim Pangals eat mutton,
18. Meghalaya Thali
Thiscuisine is unique and different from other North-eastern Indian states. Spiced meat is common, from goats, pigs, fowl, ducks, chickens, and cows. Few common foods include jadoh, kikpu, tung-rymbai, and pickled bamboo shoots, minilsonga sakkingata, and momodumplings.
19. Mizoram Thali
Rice is the staple food of Mizoram, while Mizos love to add non-vegetarian ingredients in every dish – Fish, chicken, pork and beef are popular meats among Mizos.Most of the dishes are cooked in mustard oil. Meals tend to be less spicy than in most of India.Mizos love eating boiled vegetables along with rice. A popular dish is bai, made from boiling vegetables(spinach,eggplant,beans,and other leafy vegetables) with fermented soya beans or fermented fish and served with rice.
20. Mughlai Thali
This style of cooking was influenced by the imperial kitchen of Mughal Empire. It represents the cooking of Uttar Pradesh and ranges from mild to extreme spicy. It is associated with a distinctive aroma and taste of whole ground spices.
21. Nagaland Thali
It is known for exotic pork meats cooked with simple and flavourful ingredients, like the extremely hot bhutjolokia pepper, fermented bamboo shoots and soya beans. The Naga use oil sparingly, preferring to ferment, dry, and smoke their meats and fish.
22. Odisha Thali
The cuisine of Odisha relies heavily on local ingredients. Flavours are usually subtle and delicately spiced. Panchphutana, a mix of cumin, mustard, fennel, fenugreek and Kalonji (Nigella), is widely used for flavoring vegetables and dals.
23. Pahari Thali
Pahari food, is a little known cuisine, that can be traced back to the state of Himachal Pradesh. There is a such a wide variety of foods in this region and it is all delicious.
24. Punjabi Thali
The more said, lesser it would be when we speak of Punjabi foods. They give a literal meaning to the phrase “ Unglchataterehjaogey” (You will keep licking your fingers). Punjabi foods are prepared in delicious gravy and Punjabi parathas melted in butter/ ghee.The famous Punjabi dishes like matar paneer, dal makhani, parathas, bature,chole, rajma, Paneer Butter Masala,lassi are quite popular all over India. Tamdoori Chiken, Tandoori Paneer are also quite popular dishes of this state.
25. Rajasthani Thali
Rajasthani cuisine is synonyms to “Royal Cuisine”. Their flavour, texture, aroma does tend to take you back to the period of royals. These foods could last for several days and could be eaten without heating. Scarcity of water and of fresh green vegetables have had their effect on the cooking. As water is hard to find in this arid region, most of the graves are cooked in milk, which contributes to its rich aroma and texture.
26. Sikkimese Thali
Rice is the staple food of the area, and meat and dairy products are also widely consumed. Depending on altitude variation, finger millets, wheat, buckwheat, barley, vegetables, potatoes, and soybeans are grown.Dhindo, Dal Bhaat, Momo,thuk, ningro, phagshapa, and sel roti are some of the local dishes. Alcoholic drinks are consumed by both men and women.
27. Tamil Cuisine
The region has a rich cuisine involving both traditional non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes. Tamil food is characterised by its use of rice, legumes, and lentils, along with distinct aromas and flavours achieved by the blending of spices such as curry leaves, tamarind, coriander, ginger, garlic, chili pepper, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, coconut and rose water. The traditional way of eating a meal involves being seated on the floor, having the food served on a banana leaf, and using clean fingers of the right hand to transfer the food to the mouth. After the meal, the fingers are washed, and the banana leaf becomes food for cows.
28. Telangana Thali
The thali bursts with the flavourful goodness of the State’s myriad culinary traditions. The specials include KuntikuraPappu, Jonna roti, Telangana kodi roast, beerakay guddu koora, royyaladosakai koora, maamsam koora and these curries are to be had with steamed rice or traditional flavoured rice.
29. Tripura Thali
The major ingredients of Tripuri cuisine include pork, chicken, mutton, turtle, fish, shrimps, crabs, and frogs.
By : Archa Dave
