If you can’t get enough of all-you-can-eat buffets and refillable thalis, you’ll fall head over heels in love with the Ravan Thali. This mega platter is served across India in different restaurants but two of the most popular renditions of the Ravan Thali are avalable in Goa and Pune. In Goa, which is the land of fish thalis, the most popular Ravan Thali is available at Bhumiputra Restaurant & Bar (near Parnem) which serves more than 20 items in a single thali at Rs 1575.
The Ravan thali at Bhumiputra is fish thali that is served with some accompaniments and features some fresh seafood, from pomfret, squid and king Mackerel to surmai, crabs and prawns and it can easily serve 3-4 people. October onwards, the restaurant is only serving the Ravan thali upon prior booking to enhance the serving experience.
To be fair, Goa has its fair share of big, bad thalis which are impossible to polish off in a single sitting. In fact, many tourists vouch for these fish sampler thalis to get a taste of fresh seafood in one sitting. However, most fish thalis in Goa, though hearty and filling, tend to offer 2-3 varieties of fish along with veggies, fritters, chicken, rice and bread.
The Ravan Thali which has captured the attention of foodies on the Internet has an astonishing array of items on its platter and it’s so big that it has to be carried from the kitchen to the table by two people. Bhumiputra’s Ravan Thali is a coastal extravaganza that lines up fried mackerel, king prawns, squids, Bombay duck, tandoori pomfret, modso, and leapo among appetisers. For mains, the thali offers coconut prawn curry, cafreal prawn curry, chicken tandoor alongside a unique dry fish vegetable which you can pair with salad, kokum juice or sol kadi. There’s also rice, roti and gulab jamun for dessert.
“We solely went for the Ravan Thali; the restaurant is roughly 15-20 minutes away from Mapo airport. We were just two people but we were starving because we had skipped breakfast. We were full within 10 minutes! I think we couldn’t finish even half of the thali,” recalls Anjali Goswami, who sampled the Ravan thali in September.
What Could Be Bigger?
If you think this is the most astonishing thali you’ve seen, wait till you see the Ravan thali that’s served by Pune’s Hotel Shivraj, which can easily be dubbed the granddaddy of all Ravan thali. Though this offering is not fish-oriented, it has plenty of fresh seafood delicacies along with mutton and chicken dishes.
The Ravan thali at Hotel Shivraj (located near Talegaon) has more than 30 items and it also has a standing Ravan Thali challenge. If four people can finish the thali in an hour, they can win a cash prize of Rs 5,000. However, if they can’t they have to pay the full price of the thali which is Rs 4,000. While most Ravan thalis are pre-assembled and served, the giant thali at Hotel Shivraj is assembled at the table by the wait staff.
Shivraj’s Ravan Thali has both boiler and country chicken options along with mutton delicacies. You’ll find tandoori chicken, chicken lollipop, two types of chicken masala, mutton masala, two types of chicken sukka, two types of chicken aathni, mutton aathni, mutton biryani, Indrayani bhaat and boiled eggs. In seafood, the platter offers pompfret fry, surmai fry, surmai tandoor, mandeli fry and bagda fry and bombil fry.
You’ll also spot rice, chapati, bhakdi, naan and raita. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this. A friend took me there and I was flabbergasted! It was good enough for 5-6 people I think. You’d think big thalis don’t usually have good food, but this one had some of the most amazing seafood fries,” says Manoj Surana, a Hyderabad-based consultant who sampled the Ravan Thali a few months ago.