Thali North Indian Cuisine

Enrique: Where are we?Tully?

Christina: Thali!

Enrique: What are we eating?

Christina: North Indian food.

Enrique: Let's go *upbeat music * Serj: Welcome to Thali guys.

Enrique: This is Serj.

Hes the owner of Thali.

Enrique: An Indian restaurant located in West Street Market in Reno, Nevada.

Christina: What does Thali mean?

Serj: Thali means plate.

all over India, if you go to someone's house to a restaurant, they'll prepare a plate for you That's why we picked the name, because we serve one Thali one plate, Enrique: The thali meal has many different dishes served in katoris arranged on a thali.

Christina: Thali is often a set mean using ingredients that are locally grown and in season.

Enrique: Usually the meal is all you can eat meaning that the katoris are constantly refilled until you are full.

Christina: Thali is thought to have originated in Indian temples Over time it has spread across India with each region adapting it to their local food.

Serj: I'm from the Northwest Punjab region, and so we make it the village food, like a farmer food.

I grew up on a farm and that's why wanted to introduce farmer's cuisine.

I have a friend who was from Chennai.

Chennai is in the south and she taught us how to do South Indian food.

And then we started the lunch menu for that.

Christina: Okay, so the lunch menu is southern and then the dinner menu is northern.

Okay.

Serj: We're going to do the dinner because that is that is close to my heart.

We're going to do a typical plate that you will find in Punjab.

Christina: Punjab is a state in Northern India sharing borders with other Indian states and an international border with Pakistan.

Enrique: The name Punjab is a combination of two words Punj - meaning five and Aab - meaning water translating to land of five rivers.

Thanks to these water sources and the Green Revolution in the 1960s which saw the adoption of modern technology Punjabs economy is primarily based in agriculture providing wheat, rice, cotton and more across India.

*upbeat music * Christina: The kitchen is busy preparing for tonights dishes Serj: right now, we are cutting back less oil, spices, everything, we don't even use Garam masala, we just make our own.

Garam masala that consists of a few items.

The farmers they didn't have a huge pantry You know, garam masala has eight different items.

Who made them?

we just try to keep it so simple that you can do it with the spices you already have, Enrique: Masala is the Hindi word for spice.

Christina: In Indian cooking masala is usually used to refer to a blend of spices or ingredients.

Enrique: Some masalas are so popular that they have been given their own name thats associated with one particular ingredient.

Christina: Thats when you will usually see the word masala in the name of a dish like Chicken Tikka Masala, Masala Chai and Chana Masala.

Serj: So we're doing three dishes per night.

preparing each dish individually, then we just serve it at night.

that's the concept of the thali.

It's the bulk food and that's how they serve it.

In a lot of temples.

They will cook all day serving all day to the people We are creating a community around the food.

So people are coming in, and eating together at the same level.

No one is higher, I'm going to order an expensive dish.

I'm going to order a cheap dish.

Yeah, it's the same dish to everyone.

So everyone is the equal, you know, everyone gets their own plate Christina: Ooh, smells so good.

Serj: Just take a piece of bread, dip it into whatever dish you like.

you got salad, and then raw onions that are traditional, start your digestive system, And then we got the bread over there.

It's, made of corn.

we got yogurt It's like a sour cream and Mexican food to balance all your spices.

So if it's too spicy go for a little yogurt to clear your palate Enrique: the flatbread is a little sweet from the corn, whereas the yogurt is a little acidic almost Serj: Yes.

Yes.

Enrique: That cuts through the b Serj: corn roti, roti means bread and you just make a dough, slowly adding really hot water.

this is a dying art because not everyone is making it the way they are making it.

Christina: Roti is a simple unleavened bread made from wholemeal wheat or corn flour.

Enrique: In India, this bread is very common and accompanies most meals.

Roti specifically is found largely in Punjab thanks to the wheat agriculture thats there.

Christina: There are many variations of Roti across India and other southeast Asian countries.

These rotis use different kinds of flours spices and herbs.

Serj: this one is it's easier to work with.

It's it's sticky already.

But the one that my mom used to work with, man, it took so long to make the dough a lot better.

Much better.

But this is this is pretty close.

we started as a pop up in 2016 at my friend's restaurant, My mom was full throttle doing everything first day I ask her, Hey, Mom, I'm doing this project I'm looking for a cook I think you are the perfect person to to do it.

her answer was like, If you keep it vegetarian, I'll help you.

Im like, Okay, deal.

My mom cooked everything in the garage and we brought it to the restaurant and served it to everybody.

It was just a hit my mom is Thali.

She is the influence behind all the dishes and she wanted us to know how special it was for her to teach us simple cooking because she was from a farm family.

less ingredients.

keep everything clean, no waste.

food is sacred.

that is her legacy for us.

We get a rice pudding called Kheer and it has a little cinnamon on top and, uh jaggery.

It's a unclarified sugar.

and then you have green beans with potatoes.

Potatoes are grown all over our area.

And then you have some green beans, put it together and it works wonders.

Enrique: They were exploding with flavor.

I love that We got lentils garlic is already in there.

Then we'll put ginger some peppers, and tomatoes, and we'll cook that until it's breaking down.

Our mother sauce is ready, we're going to combine the masala that we cooked with the lentils and cook it together.

that will be our Moong Dal.

and then Saag.

Enrique: very savory, that's a little salty.

I can taste the sort of leafy-ness.

Serj: Yes Christina: Its like, very smooth.

And I can taste like, it makes this really nice medley of, lack of a better word, like very vegetable.

But it's like in a good, savory way.

Yes.

Serj: Yes.

Then we got the rice, this basmati rice, with the little cilantro on top.

That's your plate.

All those tastes are included basically that's like our Vedic style of cooking.

Ayurvedic cooking is one part of the medicinal philosophy known as Ayurveda.

In this philosophy.

Our bodies hold three biological energies vata pita and kapha.

Whichever of those three is more prominent in us.

We call our Dosha and we prepare food that will naturally balance our energies based on our dosha.

That means using foods that are fresh, that digest at similar speeds and that offer lots of flavors or rasas.

Enrique: The six rasas are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent.

The subject of ayurvedic cooking is more complex than this and worth a deeper look.

Christina: But for now, let's get back to these rasas.

I'm wanting to take bits and pieces of like everything and then put it all together to put it in my mouth.

Enrique: All of these are very soft textures that combine really well with the texture of the flatbread.

each individual one has a strong flavor and it's own, but it's still very delicate.

Serj: to see in the restaurant world, like Indian cooking is spicy.

It should be balanced.

should be able to taste the vegetables and spices together.

doesn't need to be burning your tongue.

while youre eating it.

Christina: Like spices doesn't mean spicy.

Yes.

I'm a savory person.

So, like, going through all these, having, you know, the tartness from the yogurt, it cuts through and helps with the digestion.

And it just makes me want to eat more.

Enrique: it's very comforting.

Serj: it's a comfort food.

You know, basically it's a comfort food.

It's warm warms up inside too.

Christina: the meals that you have here are vegetarian vegan.

I know sometimes people are concerned that, you can't get protein how do you replace that?

Serj: So I try to educate them.

bread has some protein, then there is protein in the bea or lentils I've been eating this for 48 some years.

Yeah.

And I'm healthy as hell.

I think I get enough protein per day.

Enrique: yeah, I know you were killing it in the kitchen.

*laughter from all * Serj: at the end of the meal.

You just have your chai Enrique: The final Chai.

chai, I believe, does not translate to tea.

Serj: Yes.

So you when you say chai tea, dont repeat it.

Just say chai.

Because then you're saying tea tea.

Serj: Tea Tea please!

Christina: it's very warming.

Like all the spices from it the tea and there's milk in Serj: Whole milk.

There's black tea.

That's just for chai, Then we add chai masala that we make brown sugar.

honey is really good.

Enrique: I can feel the brown sugar, the cinnamon and the ginger sort of dancing around on my tongue,.

Serj: You put fresh ginger in it.

It's just killer.

Christina: Yeah, I'm feeling it all in here.

Enrique: this is all meant to be food that give you energy so you can hop back out and do your job.

That would love to eat all this on a rainy night and and then take a nap afterwards.

Serj: take a nap.

Enrique: Even though this is going to wake me up like a quarter of caffeine that you will get it in a cup of coffee.

it's enough just to get you going again.

there are people who will come from all over the world.

They're visiting town.

They're like, We never thought, Reno will have something like this.

they come to this little place and they're like, You took us back to my grandma My mom.

I miss my home cooked meal.

And you're providing to us and Those things need to exist.

the community needs to exist.

Enrique: The power to take people back home.

Thousands of miles away.

Serj: Yeah.

support this kind of endeavor.

Anybody wants to preserve those cultures.

You know that are disappearing.

I will support them any time.

Yeah, Know I want to preserve their culture too.

It gives me so much hope and happiness to be doing this.

I love it.

I just walk into the kitchen.

I'm in my space.

Yeah, I'm in the happiest person the whole West Street.

When I walk into the kitchen and people see it, you know, it's really important for me.

Enrique; It seems like that's your goal.

That's your mission that is the mission to preserve the culture.

Get back to my own roots.

in India, this is how we cook all to support the community of farmers.

Anybody wants to sell their product.

I welcome, you know, I want them to grow.

Enrique: Support local.

Serj: Support local.

And it's important.

Christina: Well we feel your mission and passion through all this food and what you do for the community and it's so wonderful to have, North Indian food available for us to even try.

Serj: Thank you so much.

Enrique: Its a privilage.

Truely.

Serj: Go the spread the word.

Christina: We will.