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Savour the best of Nepali food with a thakali thali

Nepal is a tiny Himalayan nation, but its cuisine is remarkably diverse. A Nepali food experience rising through the ranks of menus is the Thakali Thali, that has wound its way through various Indian cities as well. Thakali Thali is a traditional platter originating from the community living in the Thak Khola valley in the Mustang region of Nepal. It features a harmonious combination of rice, lentils, vegetables, meat and homemade pickles. The basic components are black dal, gundruk (fermented leafy green saag dish), rice, seasonal chutneys and a protein (usually mutton). ' Thakali is more than just a meal; it's a representation of Nepalese hospitality and the balanced flavors of the region. The cuisine holds a special place in Nepalese culture, often served during festivals and family gatherings," explains Vishal Mehra, Cluster General Manager, Kathmandu Marriott Hotel. Thakali thali is one of their best-sellers, loved by both locals who crave authentic flavours and tourists eager to try Nepal's iconic dishes. It's a must-try for anyone visiting their in-house restaurant Thamel Kitchen. For the longest time, thakali thali was limited to the arid Mustang region of Nepal with the Thakali sect of Nepal's population who were primarily traders of salt and silk. As Michael Vinding notes in his book The Thakali: A Himalayan Ethnography (1998): 'As recently as fifty years ago no Westerner had visited Thak Khola, and in the West almost nothing was known of the Thakali." Over the past few decades, some traders turned into powerful business families and expanded the dish to the Annapurna region where mountain climbers first sampled the dish before it moved to Kathmandu, says Prakriti Lama Patel, who grew up in the region and runs the Himalayan-cuisine themed restaurant Across in Mumbai. It was here that the thakali thali started getting popular at the turn of the century when the dish entered restaurant menus. Jimbu Thakali is one of the most popular restaurants in Kathmandu started by Vivek Sherchan who returned from the USA after studying hospitality and opened it in 2017 to popularise his mother Prabha Sherchan's traditional thakali thali in Kathmandu. 'We are the most well-known brand in Nepal for thakali thali today and sell close to 450 thalis every day. We prepare the dish in the traditional format and see a lot of locals coming in for the thali, apart from a growing number of intrepid foreigners," says Sangita Shrestha, Captain at Jimbu Thakali's Jhamsikhel branch in Kathmandu. Considering India's own famed history with thalis, it is a matter of time before this popular dish from Nepal makes its mark in the country. Already, a few restaurants from Bhubaneshwar to Mumbai serve thakali thali and Jimbu is attempting to launch in Delhi once again after a failed attempt due to Covid-19. Vivek's wife Shreeja Jha Sarchen says, 'We're opening Jimbu Thakali in Delhi later this year along with our American diner Capital Grill. We faced supply chain issues earlier but now it's easier to import our masalas and dal so we're confident of replicating our success in Nepal in India as well." In India, Yeti Himalayan Kitchen has been serving thakali thalis across their outlets from Bhubaneshwar to Pune over the past decade. Goumtesh Joy Singh, partner at Yeti, says that the thakali offers great value for money and that there has been more awareness about it lately. 'At Yeti, we serve thakali thali with options in six varieties of protein such as chicken, pork, paneer, mushroom along with black dal, gundruk , rice and kheer . Across our outlets, diners love to try the thakali thali . We see a lot of younger crowds experimenting with the thali," he informs. Lama Patel, who runs Across with her husband chef Viraf Patel, says the Mustard Black Dal on the menu is a homage to the thakali thali in an elevated yet approachable setting. 'I've been thinking about opening a chain of thakali thalis because it's a dish I grew up eating in Nepal ever since I was a child. When we launched Across in November 2024, I was sure of introducing the Mustang Black Dal as the star of the dish. I got the idea from Viraf who loves to mix his meat with the dal and have it like a soup," Lama Patel says. The Mustang Black Dal at Across is tempered with jimbu (Nepalese Allium) and is accompanied with ghee -infused rice, chutneys and pickles. In Kolkata, chef Sachiko Seth, partner at Blue Poppy Thakali, says the thali will get its due sooner than later as there's a trend of trying new dishes now. Seth says the restaurant sells about 30 portions of thakali thali every day and more on weekends, with their version using local gobindobhog rice apart from other traditional ingredients. Lama Patel of Across says thakali has made great strides already. 'If you think about it, it's far easier for language, culture, cuisine to travel along flatlands compared to mountains, especially the ones in Nepal where people on both sides of the mountain speak different languages. From being a staple meal along highway dhabas in upper regions of Nepal to becoming a mainstay in Kathmandu and now travelling across to India, thakali thalis have had quite a journey in the last two decades." With the upcoming launch of Jimbu Thakali and new outlets in Mumbai, from Yeti Himalayan Kitchen already in the works, the once-humble thakali thali seems on course to find more eager diners soon. Priyanko Sarkar is a Mumbai-based writer covering the F&B industry.