A culinary and social adventure: thali

Dear readers,
You may have noticed that I have been writing about both Norwegian Christmas food og Greek food lately. However, we are in a culinary paradise here in India - and the food is quite different than what I have tasted in various Indian restaurant outside India. And I mean that in a positive way.

I think so far, my favourite Indian dish is Thali, and that is for more than one reason. First you get this round large tray all to yourself. It has small bowls on, and they get quickly filled up with a selection of dishes - some of them quite new to my taste buds if I'll be honest. We started with bread and then the dishes just kept coming, one by one, again and again... Being new to India is was an amazing way to explore the variety in tastes - from curry to lemongrass to coconut, and then to something reeeally spicy and then to tomatoes with a hint of cloves and then to something sweet...And it is all in different colours- a sight for the eyes as well:-)

So, the tastes of thali is one thing, but for me, just as nice as the culinary journey we were doing with our trays, was the social dimension this kind of food has. It kind of reminds me of having meze in Greece - or tapas in Spain; You know when you gather around the table with friends or family, sitting there for hours and hours more: talking, eating, drinking and eating again - while the dishes just keep coming and coming and you are getting more and more stuffed and time flies. And you are having a wonderful time. That is thali -time for me here in India. It doesn't get better than that.