I have mentioned, before, this elegant hotel in the heart of old Ahmedabad, The House of MG. It was built by a prominent, self-made, textile tycoon, Shri Mangaldas Girdhandas in the 1920s. He and his family lived and entertained on this spot for many years. The story goes that the kitchen was open 24 hours a day for friends, family, and visitors to be welcomed over a meal. It is now a World Heritage site hotel. The main dining room is the Agashiye, which means “on the terrace” and that is exactly where it is, on the roof terrace. 
Beautiful views of the old city surround the adjoining roof terraces. At night, there are large candles and torches lighting the darkness. And in spite of the chaotic traffic down below and all around, it is remarkably peaceful.
Thali is named for the metal plate on which dinner is served. Small cups are filled with different vegetables and placed on the large round plate. Gujarat is pretty strictly a vegetarian state, though there are some exceptions. You wash your hands both before and after the meal. Your right hand is traditionally your eating hand and the left is used for the water glass. The eating is done by taking a piece of bread and scooping up a piece of the vegetable dishes, then into your mouth it goes. There are also chutneys and dipping yogurts on the table. A spoon is served with the plate for your use as well.
The waiters come in a line to the table, each carrying one of the items on the menu for that night. They rotate around the table. Some dishes are served in the cups, others go directly on the plate. They will come and refill any or all of the items. The wait staff is all from neighboring villages and live in a hostel next door. There are three courses. The first is the bread items and four different vegetable dishes. Next is the protein course with rice and lentils.
The thali is then cleared after you have had your fill, and a bowl of warm water with lemon is served to clean your hands. Lastly, homemade ice cream is served along with the paan (beetle leaf) with a range of after- mints which include fresh coconut and other seeds all served from an old wooden box. You may fill your paan leaf with as much or as little as you like of the traditional digestives, fold it over, and enjoy.
We ate here the first week we were in Ahmedabad and decided to hold the end of the semester dinner there for the students. It was a memorable night all together, before we flew hither here and yon and our magical mystery tour of incredible India was over!
TalesAlongTheWay 
What a magical place!
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Indeed it is! Thanks. . .nameste. . . . .Anne
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Wonderful setting on the roof and the food looks awesome!! Your portrayal of the thaali is accurate! 🙂
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Gujarati Thali is famous all over India for its varied taste and unlimited portions..here in Delhi, we go to Rajdhani Restaurant, which serves unlimited thali …its a gastronomic bonanza when we d that..generally we skip a meal before having this thali 🙂
http://www.myunfinishedlife.com/
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Thank you so much. We loved the food and the experience. Glad to hear from an expert! Namaste. . . .. Anne
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Great idea to skip a meal in preparation of this feast. What makes the Gujarati Thali different exactly?
Namaste. . . . Anne
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Lovely pictures and the foods looks delicious.
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Thanks and it is! Namaste. . . .Anne
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Beautiful pictures and the food looks mouth watering good. Thanks for sharing.
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I loved the food and was very careful what I ate…no street food, lots of hand washing…yogurt and fruit for digestion. Thanks for sharing…namaste. . . .Anne
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Oh my God I am so jealous. Have wanted to go to India for some time. Great post and pictures. Also, thanks for following my blog.
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Incredible India pretty much sums it up! I am glad you liked the post. Check out some of the rest, you might enjoy them, too! Namaste. . .. Anne
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I wanted to tell you that we have been to Croatia and loved your beautiful country. We have friends in Riaka and we loved Spit and Dubrovnik. We were horrified at the war destruction in Dubrovnik, but I understand repairs have been made…..namaste. . . .Anne
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How cool! My great grandmother lived in a small village close to Rijeka called Praputnjak. We used to go there as kids. Both Split and Dubrovnik are beautiful. It’s so funny because most people think of Eastern Europe as being dull and gray and are amazed when they see pictures of our beautiful coastline.
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Indeed, it is a small world. We were there right many years ago, but there were lots of English and German tourists in Croatia, then. We were told that is where the European tourists go for a reasonable, lovely seaside vacation while the Americans took over Europe! Smiles….Anne
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That’s true.
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All the wonderful food…so healthy! Sure beats burgers and fries…..
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It’s as delicious as it looks! 😎
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The thali [ plate ] in second pic contains all most all traditional and daily routine food of a typical Gujarati family eats .Food like liquid Curry [call Kadhi] in off white color. Enjoy the Gujarati food 🙂
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Thanks so much for information. I loved the food. I think my husband and I are the only people ever who came back to the US weighing more than when we left. We loved the food, all over India, but especially the Gujurati cuisine! Namaste. . .. Anne
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Thanks.. Anne.You are welcome .Namaste 🙂
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Thanks!
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