Last night my dad decided he wanted to have a late dinner at Bukhara Bistro in Yonkers. Since I basically lost my appetite waiting for my aunt, uncle and cousin to show up I thought it was a good idea to try the Navratan Vegetarian Thali.  In India they give you a plate with little bowls of different dishes, rice and usually Tandoori Naan/Roti.  This way you can have a little bit of each dish without over eating.

Here is what a thali looks like:

Courtesy of Google Images

[Note: All regions of India serve thali’s with different dishes!]

My dish came with a subzi (spiced mixed vegetables), dhal (lentils made in a soupy, stew like manner), paneer dilruba (home-made indian cheese in a tomato cream sauce), raita (yogurt with herbs), basmati rice, achaar (pickle), naan and 2 gulab jamans (my favorite rose-water, milk and honey pastry served in a warm sweet honey sauce).  Of course I shared this with my dad and ate as much as I could handle.  I immediately went for the paneer, which is my favorite.  I had a little bit of dhal (it was decent but not my favorite), a good amount of raita and half of the large piece of naan presented to us.

As usual I had my mango lassi at hand and my spoon ready for the gulab jaman.

By sharing this meal I was able to cut my calories in half.  The thing that made this dish even better was that the meal was presented in small bowls for easy portion control and easy sampling.

That’s all for now!

Peace, love and no beef!

Guramrit