Gujarati cuisine is very different from the food of the rest of India. It's mainly vegetarian and traditionally served on silver platters with both rice and a variety of Indian breads. It blends the sweet and spicy, creating a genre of food where every spoonful conjures up a plethora of flavours and leaves behind a pleasantly sweet after-taste.
Elementary Etiquette
- You eat with your hands. Normally you use the right hand for eating and your left for the water glass or to
help yourself from the food placed on your table.
- You wash your hands both before and after the meal. Squeezing lemon between your fingers before
washing removes greasiness and odors.
- The napkin on your table is not meant for wiping soiled hands during the meal but to wipe them after they are
washed.
The Rotis (Indian bread) are to be eaten with the Dal (lentil soup), Kadhi (yogurt and gram flour preparation) as well as with the vegetable dishes (you would have a choice of 4-5). Apply the white butter and jaggery generously to your Rotis before doing that. Try the salted Chaas (butter milk) along with. The centre of the Thali will have Chutneys and pickle as accompaniment.
When taking a break from the Rotis, savour the fried and steamed Farsan ( a savoury dish), with a dash of Chutney (during dinner, Farsan is served as a starter). Another unique feature of a Gujarati Thali is that a sweet dish, normally hot and fresh, being enjoyed along side the meal. In addition there is Raita, a yogurt preparation that acts as a tongue tickler. A Kachumber (salad) of fresh vegetables or fruits, often mixed with gram will be served as well.
Once you are done with the Rotis, you move on to either Rice or Kichdi (a split lentil preparation) that is served with a second helping of hot Dal (that goes better with rice) or Kadhi (goes better with Kichdi). Any which way, allow the waiter to pour a generous helping of Ghee (clarified butter). This is a timeless Gujarati ritual. So indulge forgetting about calories.
When you are through, the Thali will be cleared and the waiter will help you wash your hands. Desserts (Indian sweets or home made ice-creams) follows and the meal ends with paan (beetle leaf) served with a whole range of mukhwas (Indian after mints)
Best Place to have a Gujarati Thali in India –
(1) Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad & Bangalore
• At the Rajadhani Restaurant. Here stewards, captains and managers employ a complex system of hand signs to communicate with each other. The staff is required to remember as many as 32 different hand signs that represent different portions of the extensive Gujarati Thali.
http://www.rajdhani.co.in/Rajdhani_outlets.html
(2) Ahmedabad -
• At the Agashiye, House of MG. It is a uniquely different experience, combining a traditional meal with rich history. Sitting on the Agashiye, which means terrace, feels like being in a Bolywood movie set, minus the glamour but it has played host to Mahatma Gandhi.
http://www.houseofmg.com
• At the Mangaldas ni Haveli. It is a 200 year old three-storey wooden structure in the heart of Old Ahmedabad. Built almost entirely from Burma Teak, it is an amazing example of old city architecture.
http://www.houseofmg.com/haveli.php
