My fellow meat lovers, do not be disheartened by the lack of flesh (gross way to describe meat my bad) in the above picture, as I didn’t label it ‘luxurious’ for no reason. This hearty platter (Thali as we South Asians call it) satisfied every inch of my palate, #issatruth! It also happens to contain two of my favourite Indian dishes- Daal Makhani and Shahi Paneer- Big Bonus!
Thanks to the South Asian Diaspora, Thali meals are popular in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Fiji, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Singapore. But I bet you can get yourself one of these anywhere in the world if ya’ know where to go… at a real authentic Indian restaurant.
You know the restaurant is the real deal when they have Hari Mirch (green chillies) on sticks as condiments!
Anyways, lets get straight to the point, this particular Thali contained:
– Creamy black lentils (Daal Makhani)
– Creamy (paneer) cottage cheese in a thick gravy of tomatoes and spices (Shahi Paneer)
– Sweet coconut rice pudding with cardamom & almonds (Khir)
– Sweet & sour yogurt (Dahi)
– Poppadoms served with mint chutney with pickled ginger & onions (Pappar, chutney & Achaar)
All served with a choice of tandoori roti or any flavour naan…layered in ghee of course!
There’s so much going on in your mouth that you don’t even have time to think about the fact that there’s no meat in this, trust me all kinds of explosions were going off in my mouth (kind of like in the film Ratatouille when Remy tries to explain to his cousin rat the fireworks that go off in his mouth when he appreciates good food, feel ya’ bro).
I had the pleasure of receiving the famous platter at the well known Haveli restaurant in Jalandhar, Punjab, India last April. I actually visited the place three times in two weeks it was that good and writing this post is making me crave another one badly!
#Reppin
Clay statues at Haveli of Punjabi women in the 1940/50s preparing tandoori roti in a clay oven
@chandniguramtv
Book India’s Golden Triangle Tour today to experience the Luxurious Punjabi Thali yourself!