From KCRW, I'm Evan Klyman, and you're listening to good food. Nearly ever Nearly every culture has some kind of practice around communal eating, a tradition

that's not merely about food, but a way we connect when we eat together.

While some modern parents struggle, just to keep screens from dominating the dinner table,

others prepare elaborate communal meals with long histories.

Such is the Talli.

Indian chef and author Monica Gowarden explains the traditions surrounding

tally, a delicious variety platter meant to offer all six taste sensations.

Sweet, salty, bitter, sour, astringent and spicy all on one plate.

Hi, Monica.

Hi, Evan.

So tell us about, Tolly, what is the translation of the word,

and how long have they been served in India,

and what does their general composition consist of?

Firstly, can I just say, thank you so much

for such a wonderful introduction.

It's so nice to hear the whole

taste sensation from somebody else apart from me kind of explaining it in my book.

But I think when you think about Thalia when you're actually thinking

about a little translation of the word which is a large plate and the plate

actually is almost like a complete meal on a single platter. So what you're really looking for is a balance in that meal and that tends to generally include curry, stir-fried dish, some dry vegetables, a yogurt, bread and some rice as well.

Now when I actually go into the book a lot of the times, Evan, I always tend to explain that although I actually ate Thalis ever since I was really young and I grew up in India,

not every Thalie was extremely elaborate as the one I've just told you about.

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