Do you recall the days when the only two types of Indian food you could find outside of homes were “North Indian” and “South Indian,” along with the kind hospitality of friends who would prepare meals that exposed you to the range of flavors that existed beyond the dull tang of butter chicken? The flavors were very recognizable since many Indian cuisines use the same spice foundation. However, the way the ingredients were combined, or the way foreign meats and vegetables were utilized, made the tastes quite exciting. When it came to dining out, though, it would be back to paneer makhani and masala dosa.

You could eat a real Indian thali every day for at least two weeks in Bangalore without getting tired of the food. Bengali, Andhra, and Kerala cuisine were the pioneers; ignore Rajasthani/Gujarati cuisine. You may choose from an Odisha thali, a Maharashtrian nonvegetarian thali, a Maharashtrian vegetarian thali, an Assamese thali, a Naga thali, a Sindhi thali, a Goan thali, a Mangalorean thali, a Chettinadu thali, a saatvik thali, and a Coorg thali today. As more IT professionals quit their 9-to-5 jobs and become food entrepreneurs, you can anticipate the list to grow as they turn to their home cuisines.

The thali has undoubtedly been a key factor in bringing about this culinary revolution. A thali is the ideal way to introduce someone to a cuisine that is unfamiliar but not foreign. When you’re unsure of what to order, it’s the ideal window to a cuisine. The restaurateur or chef has carefully selected the components of this well-balanced meal in order to achieve the ideal combination of flavors and textures that will entice customers to return for more,” claims Arjun Sajnani, a theater artist and restaurateur who recently launched his Indian restaurant, Sunny’s Indian Kitchen, on Lavelle Road. The new location saw Sajnani choose to offer his native Sindhi cuisine, a departure from Sunny’s, his well-known Western restaurant. Sunny’s Indian kitchen offers a non-vegetarian Sindhi thali that includes a mix of vegetarian fare, such as sai bhaji, a dish made with pureed spinach and daal, and sindhi kadhi, as well as meat options like daag mein gosht (a mutton dish made with onions and tomatoes) and paalak (spinach) chicken. “Thalis work better than buffets,” Sajnani argues. “The food doesn’t get overcooked for ages in chafing dishes, and the chef gets better control over the meal,” he adds.

Entrepreneur Kailash Suryawanshi established his own restaurant, Suryawanshi, in Whitefield in May 2013 after being unable to locate genuine food from his hometown of Kolhapur in Maharashtra. Maharashtrian food, particularly the meat-rich Kolhapuri cuisine, is what Suryawanshi offers. “Our thalis are inspired by the Maharashtrian thali popular in Pune. “The fact that the majority of our cooks are natives of Kolhapur gives the cuisine authenticity,” Suryawanshi says. The restaurant offers a wide selection of thalis, including a chicken thali, an egg curry thali, a mutton and chicken thali that is really delicious, and two different sorts of mutton thalis. The vegetarian thalis come in two different flavors.

Assamese and Naga cuisines have become unexpectedly popular in Bangalore, although they were previously almost unheard of (one reason could be that they are mostly confined to household kitchens, even in their native states). Additionally, the thali has been essential to the success and popularity of both. “The thali concept has worked brilliantly for Axomi since it helped people get themselves acquainted and familiar with Assamese cuisine, which nonAssamese diners were not very familiar with when we started the restaurant,” says Dr. Simanta Sharma, who launched Axomi in Koramangala over a year ago. The thalis at Axomi, which are available in deluxe and mini versions, are made up of some of the staples of Assamese cuisine, such as alu pitika, mashed potatoes, tenga, a mild and sour curry cooked with a souring ingredient like tomatoes, and khar, a fish curry cooked with a special ingredient called khar, which is produced by the banana plant.

Although the majority of these restaurants provide thalis in addition to a la carte menus, certain cuisines lend themselves so well to the thali treatment that restaurant owners seldom bother with menus. Two such cuisines are Rajasthani and Gujarati, and establishments like Maharaja Bhog, which has locations across India and the world, including Dubai and the US, have discovered that the thali style best meets their demands for providing modest portions of a range of vegetarian meals in a specific, prearranged sequence.

Unlike most other thalis, these traditional thalis are presented at the table rather than preplated. “Our premium vegetarian thali has a rotating menu – one thali for each day of the month. Jagmohan Bhutada, one of the owners of the restaurant group, explains, “That’s the sort of diversity the cuisine has.