The thali – Indian concept of a cheap and full meal

Indians love to have a number of items in their daily meals and, hence, the concept of thali has emerged because here, on a single plate (or thali), you can find an assortment of food items – some of these you may not like but you do not have any choice to change the items on the standard menu. It comes cheap and, therefore, is an attractive option for those who have to be careful of how they spend their hard-earned money.
Mandatory items in any thali are four number of puris (or two chapatis) along with a container of rice. Set around the periferi of the thali are a number of smaller containers which contain the food items like dal, vegetables (both dry and with gravy), pickles or onion slices, curd and a sweet – additional helpings are given for dal or the vegetables but not for any other item. At times, a papad is also given.
The menu is set in the morning and runs throughout the day. Changes happen only the next day and these usually are in the mix of vegetables and the dal. That way, the restaurants can economize and maintain low prices to keep the customers happy since they need not cater for those who are choosy. For them, there are buffet meals in costlier eating joints where they can go also in for selective ordering to cater to their taste buds.
I have had the opportunity of tasting thalis in Nashik, Bangalore, Mysore and other places in south India when I had gone with my family to various tourist destinations like Sravanbelagola and Oooty and have found the fare to be more or less similar.
Take the case of a Rajasthani thali - there are umpteen number of small containers laid out all around the thali and each if these contain something special that just cannot be ignored.
The thalis also used to be popular in trains where the items would be brought in specially designed trays that had hollows punched out in the tray itself to accommodate the items. The curd would be served in separate paper cups. Later, the thalis were replaced by meals in casseroles – the puri or chapatis would be rolled into foils and the food items would be what you had ordered. These also would be in casseroles.