The traditional thali was a delight to look at, from the very step of placing the dried pan leaf stitched together with a gota border thali along with the clay bowls spread in a styled manner..
To my surprise, the sweets were served first.. And what ravishing sweets were they !
A bliss to the eye, and a worry to the tummy line ! Painted in all shades, deep green, silver coated, laddos, juicy yellow ghewar loaded with saffron shaded malai and dashed with sugar syrup and the mango ras malai.. all tempted the taste buds, but my instincts tell me that sweets are to be eaten at the end, and so I impatiently waited for the food to arrive.
The next we were served was dahi bhalle, not the huge bhalles of the north india, just the lil balls into the perfectly thick curd and served with the tangy and sweet saunth.
The ras malai and dahi bhalla occupied the two bowls.. While three
bowls waited to be filled in..
Within minutes ( even before I hadn't even reached the middle of conversation admiring the sweets and the variety) came the buckets full of appetizing curries.. And I thought it would just be three of them (dal, paneer, and a mix sabzi which is called jhol), but no ! With three different kinds of breads:
And the spice filled kachori;
Came more veggies to accompany my lunch thali !
Comparatively dry, these were more rich in flavors and textures, full of herbs and dry fruits !
Allu sabzi, petha sabzi, mix veg and ofcourse - chutney and papad !
Did you count the total number ?
My bursting tummy has more to tell you ..
The servings of lassi, chaach, a variety of sharbats and the lip smacking jeera neembu soda !
Well, my taste buds enjoyed the entire ride, while my stomach is cursing me now and sleep overtaking all my senses and enthusiasm of the places I had put in my wishlist- taj mahal, mathura, vrindavan and a few more to visit on the way back home..
And by the end of it all, my mind is in complete dilemma of which of the food variety had hit the nail in my taste buds most pleasurably ..
Tracing back in my lazy mind.. I think I was bewitched by the hospitable way the food was served constantly on my thali before anything could get over, so I don't really know how many repeated
fillings of food items went into my lunch duration.. Only if I could recall how many times one thing was served into my thali, would I be able to tell which among all was my favorite!
And just to close it all.. A meetha pan..
I have nothing else to say
P.s. My dadi tells me its made in pure desi ghee.. Served in patile
.. And made with utmost traditional way :)
I missed taking pictures of the three different drinks served alongside..
But, I'll be back again for more !
And here you go.. The most awaited.. PICTURES !
(sorry for the quality: shot with iPhone since I wasn't carrying camera)
