A typical south indian thali

the thali platter would have combination of sweet, salt, bitter, sour and spicy mixed with rice or chapathi as main dish. all the recipes or dishes served in the the thali makes a perfect balance and serves all the nutrients required for a proper diet  i have chosen pepper rasam from andhra or tamil cuisine, cabbage thoran from kerala cuisine and ash gourd sambar from karnataka cuisine to make it perfect balance. while there isn’t any hard and fast rule to organise the south indian lunch menu. but it is recommended to have the combination of rasam, sambar, sabzi or palya, dessert and a salad. the thali can also be extended further by adding snacks like medu vada, mirchi bajji or even vegetable bonda or some deep fried poori. on the contrary, the thali menu can be reduced to have either rasam or just sambar and one poriyal or thoran. at the end of the day it is up-to individual preference and how grand or simple the thali has to be.