Many people mistakenly tend to associate Indian food with a narrow definition. For them, Indian cuisine basically boils down to some kind of vegetable stew with an overpowering hot curry powder. Indian food definitely uses array of many potent Indian spices and spice mixtures such as garam masala. However, focus should be the matching of correct spices with the type of food you are making to enhance the dining experience.
Indian food is as diverse collection of cuisines of many ethnic and cultural groups in India. Tradition, ethnicity, geographic location, religion and individual preference define a typical meal in a Thali
Thali, which translates into a large plate with small bowls dishes, typically consist of rice or flatbread (eg: roti, naan), vegetable in curry sauce or dry rub, meat for those who eat it, chutney or achar, and some form of green saag and/or type of salad such as raita.