The Thali Meal

Maybe the most enjoyable part about being in South India is the food. When I first came here twelve years ago, and was encouraged to eat with my hand and tempted with numerous flavors on a banana leaf that could be replenished unlimited times, I knew that I had found my eating heaven. While I’ll let Wikipedia spell out the definition of a thali (which literally refers to the round stainless steel plate the meals are served on), the main thing that you need to know is that you’ll never leave unsatisfied. A few years back, when we were living in Seattle, it was great day when we found a place making thali meals on the Eastside called Udupi Palace. When my wife had terrible hyperemesis gravidarium with Kaia in her belly, oddly enough, this was just about the only place she could eat out at. Anyway, while being here hasn’t made me a thali connoisseur, I have a bit of a better sense of eating order (there are so many things to choose from) and how to pace oneself.

But for Kaia, the thali—in fact any Indian eating experience—has made it difficult for us to establish any kind of utensil habit. Hands are the preferred mode of transport from plate to lip and who can blame him? Food tastes much better when it is coming off of your fingertips. The challenge with him isn’t if he is going to make a big mess—he is—it is whether or not he can steer clear of the spicy things. You can tell any Indian cook not to make something spicy and this just means 1 chili instead of 4. I don’t know if it is within the realm of possibility to even cook without adding some kind of spice…it is as if there is a magnet between the hand and pan that just pulls it in. Anyway, while Kaia has a decent tolerance for spicy things (but HATES anything hot temperature wise), there tend to be little ‘bombs’ of fire that get him from time to time. In the photo above you can see Mr. Happy just moment before chomping down on something spicy that sent him off into a two minute screaming-fest. For Kaia, but the small side dishes are OK, it is the different breads and fried things like chapathi, pappad and puri that bring a smile to his face. In the photo he’s munching on a puri and the (children’s) thali plate has, from right to left, curd (yogurt), a sweet, dahl, sambar, and chili potato dish. Later on comes the ice cream. Today Kaia reached for the pan after lunch, but I don’t think that he and betel nut would be such a great idea just yet.

Why I Love this Time: The frustration and endearment that emerges from the negotiation of what shirt he’s going to wear today (currently a rotation of ‘surfer tanktop’, ‘grasshopper’—seen in the photo, ‘surfer shirt’ and ‘green shirt’)