Indian lunch ideas | the ultimate 20 best everyday thali combinations that you need | these menu ideas for lunch & dinner are perfect to cook in couple hours & you will love them as much as I do.
what’s in an Indian lunch thali?
Who doesn’t love a nice sumptuous thali, right? Thali is an Indian term which means – lot of food items in small bowls(katoris) placed beautifully on a large dinner plate. The beauty of it lies in tasting different flavors along with textures in one meal. A regular Indian household eats thali on a daily basis with few side dishes, condiments and sweet. All these items put together makes a delicious thali/meal combo. We prepare guest thali when there are friends & family at home. Guest menu ideas are even bigger with lot more recipes. In today’s recipe, I share with you my 20 best & tasty everyday thali recipes & menu plans, I am sure these will make you drool!
Indian lunch ideas are very vast. I cook both north Indian & south Indian food as part of everyday meals. I prefer thali for lunch as I have more time & energy to focus on cooking.
what’s special about a thali?
A thali/lunch menu has several food items in small portions that’s eaten with a large carb(like rice or roti). The beauty lies in being able to eat several foods with different tastes, varied spice level and textures. I have observed that the acidity of one item is balanced by another bland one. A wet item like rasam is balanced with a dry curry like beans fry. Carb like poori is balanced with a spicy curry like paneer sabji. All this is completed with a deliciously sweet & fragrant dessert like kesari, gulab jamun & rasmalai. All in all, this concept of thali also has many nutritious benefits. The carbs from rice/roti is balanced with protein from dal/pulses, fiber from curry/vegetables & acidity balanced with curd/yogurt. So, this makes a complete balanced meal that’s wholesome & very satisfying!
20 best everyday menu ideas/mealplans
Here, I have 20 such tasty & delicious meal ideas that will make you hungry. These can be prepared in 1-3 hours depending on how large the thali is. I have added some recipes from each thali. Going forward, I will keep updating this post as and when I have the recipe for other items. I hope you will try them & enjoy them.
Let me know in comments how you like them!
Click on the highlighted item to view its recipe
- raw mango rice(mamidikaya pulihora), aloo fry, papad(appadam)
- tomato dal, green beans fry, rasam, curd, rice & papad
- egg curry, rice, salad
- vegetable pulao, mirchi ka salan, kheer(payasam), tomato raita
- stuffed karela(kakarakaya), pappu chaaru(lentil stew), kheer, rice
- poori, chole masala, mutter pulao, raita, gulab jamun
- tamarind rice(pulihora), carrot fry, gulab jamun
- paratha, lehsuni dal tadka, soya chunks curry, pulao, raita & salad GUEST MENU
- rice, chow chow kootu, rasam, drumstick curry, curd & papad
- fried rice, paneer manchurian gravy, spring rolls
- palak dal, karela fry(kakarakaya vepudu), menthula pulusu(fenugreek rasam), chow chow chutney, rice
- amaranthus(thotakoora) fry, carrot stir fry with coconut(poriyal), sambar, rasam, rice & ravva kesari
- guttivankaya(stuffed brinjal), cluster beans curry, amaranthus pulusu, radish sambar, rice & appadam
- poori, jeera rice, tawa paneer fry, rajma masala, dahi aloo, kheer & raita GUEST MENU
- vegetable biryani, egg salan, raita & salad
- chikkudu kaya koora(flat beans curry), rasam, dal, pachadi, semiya(vermicelli) kheer, curd, rice & papad
- masala poori, chole, beetroot halwa
- vegetable dal, green beans fry, tomato rasam, plain rice & assorted papad
- plain rice, toor dal tadka, carrot fry, brinjal coriander stir fry, aloo jeera, tamarind rice, mirchi bajji, rasam, curd rice, kheer & mango pieces GUEST MENU
- brinjal aloo curry, colocasia(arbi) fry, dal, rasam, tomato curd chutney, gongura pachadi, vankaya(eggplant) bajji, pineapple kesari & pootharekulu GUEST MENU
