Finger Foods

Thali (pronounced Thah-lee) is the Indian word for platter of food. Traditionally, it consists of a large banana leaf, (but we have been using round metal plates), covered in small piles of varied dishes. They can be mixed together in different ways for a multitude of bites each with a different texture, temperature, and taste.

There is an artistic layout of the dishes.  Your carb and main eating utensil like food is placed in either the middle or directly in front of your body. The main dishes are ladles along the left side of the plate in the largest portions. And the right hand side has my favorite part of all meals, the accompaniments like fresh salad, fried chapatti bread, and various chutneys.

And it is all eaten with your hands—your right hand to be precise. In India, all polite gestures and actions are done with the right hand. Paying the check, accepting gifts, touching your heart in apology, getting someone’s attention, and of course eating must never be completed with the left hand.

So, with my right hand I pick up some round wheat flatbread called chapatti, scoop us a bite of curry, a bit of salad, and some spicy coconut chutney and drop it into my mouth, sitting on my left hand to restrain it.