Thali meal
HISTORY:
As noted by INTACH, the earliest evidence of use of continuity in cooking and food habits of India can be established by the existence of tandoor (cooking oven), thali, lotas and chakla-belan for making chapatis found in excavations at Indus Valley Civilization site of Kalibangan (3500 BCE – 2500 BCE)
THALI MEAL:
Indians are known for elaborate meals and the South Indian thali is the best example of it. There is no 'rule' to this thali and it contains liberal helpings of rice, sambhar, kootu ( vegetables curry cooked with lentils), kosumri, paapad, curd and for desert, there's akkaravadisal ( a sweet made with rice and lentils) to complete the meal.
The idea behind a Thali is to offer all the 6 different flavors of sweet, salt, bitter, sour, astringent and spicy on one single plate.
UNLIMITED THALI:
Unlimited thalis are those that come with limitless refills. Kunal Vijaykar considers an unlimited thali as quintessentially Indian, not just for variety or limitlessness, but because it is true to Indian tradition.
In many parts of India and Nepal, the bread and the rice portions are not served together in the thali. Typically, the bread is offered first with rice being served afterwards, often in a separate bowl or dish.