A South Indian meal

What you see here is a South Indian (Tamul to be precise) festive meal. It means you don't have it everyday, and you can only have it in Tamil Nadu. This sort of meal is called a Thali (Hindi for plate) meal, but this one is a special one:

Here is a little breakdown of what is on the banana leaf (used as a plate in most places):

• You should start with something sweet. This is what the fruit salad is for (SE of the picture).


• The little doughnut-shaped thing is called a vada. It is a little spicy and a little salty. You dip it in sambhar or chutney when you have it.


• On the North East corner of the plate are pickles (red). They're very spicy. Just to get everything a little hotter. Indians are like that.


• In the center of the plate is dal. You should eat it with rice.


• South-South-West: Potatoes in a masala mix.


• There is a spoon, too.


• South is cabbage poriyal. It features coconut and it tastes good. By the way, I ate all this! Yeah.

In general, you eat with your right hand. Use it as a little shovel then approach your mouth with food and use the thumb to push it all the way into your mouth. Left hand can be used to drink water. But you shouldn't really use it. It is unpure. More on that later. He hehe.
So it goes like this: Start with something sweet, eat all the spicy things, and finish with a sweet dairy product.