My love affair with Indian food is a lifelong one. I am grateful to have married a man who enjoys the delectable array of spices, sweets and rice that the Indian kitchens offer.
On Monday night, unable to muster up the desire to cook and being famished, we decided to eat out. A place that I usually frequent for their lunch buffet, is called Swagat – which means Welcome. It is a local favorite and my girlfriends and I have come here often. Instead of doing the dinner buffet, we wanted to order some biriyani – spiced Indian rice dish with your choice of meat. Delicious! Debating whether we should stay and eat or get take-out, I sent Aaron inside to order what he wanted, while I waited in the car. It looked like he was consulting the owner and had picked something off the menu.I went inside just to use the restroom and when I came back, Aaron says he has picked the Indian Thali. “A thali is a selection of different dishes, usually served in small bowls on a round tray. The round tray is generally made with steel with multiple compartments. In North America, people sometimes use plastic thalis because they are disposable. Typical dishes include rice, dhal, vegetables, chapati, papad, curd (yoghurt), small amounts of chutney or pickle, and a sweet dish to top it off. Restaurants typically offer a choice of vegetarian or meat-based thalis. Kerala way of Thali is known as Sadya, with rice as staple food, and other specialities.
Depending on the restaurant or the region you are in, the thali consists of delicacies native to that region. Thali starts out with puris, chapatis (rotis), different vegetarian specialities (curries).” – description courtesy of Wikipedia.
The picture is an example of the delicious meal we had that night! The fragrant blend of spices wafted in our dining area long after we had done the dishes and gone to bed. Mmmmmm….pure bliss!
