In the olden days 'Pattal' (platters for food) was made as a doily of leaves. 'Dona' (bowls) were made with of leaves as well. These were disposable items used to serve food. Apart from these the thali is very integral to Indian food. An entire Indian meal is served at once in bowls arranged on the periphery of a thali. Most of the traditional  tableware was made of brass, copper, or kansa. Silver with gold trim in tableware was used for the rich class. Nowadays, most of the tableware is made of stainless steel.

Thali is generally a full plate of meal in which there is a variety of vegetables, lentils (daals), chutney, non-vegetarian dishes, papads, pickles, curd and also sweets served with rice or chapatis. Eating from a ‘thali’ is quite common in most parts of India. Thalis are one of the most delicious and inexpensive dishes that one will encounter throughout India.

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