Gail mentioned last month that Chef Sanjiv Dhar, right, of Rasoi in Pawtucket and Kabob and Curry in Providence would be cooking up a special all month. The press release:

Every evening from 5:30pm - 9pm... Rasoi is offering a Pre-Set Ayurvedic Thali for $14.99. Ayurveda is a 5000-year-old tradition that teaches that energetic forces (doshas) in one's body suggest what foods we should eat.

After extensive study of Ayurvedic writings, Chef Dhar carefully chose this August meal by balancing the concepts of air, earth, water, and fire with superb taste.

A thali, or thaali (the number of "a"s seems optional) is a round plate that serves as a tray for the small bowls (katoris) holding the meal.

A good thaali is characterized by the choices it offers. Flavors, color, aroma and texture come into play, making the meal a feast for the senses. It's science, it's also art, and it's fun all the way. You can crunch on a salad before dipping pieces of soft, crisp bread into a soupy lentil dish. Too hot to handle? Just move on to smooth, bland yogurt to cool off. If you're feeling experimental, combine a piece of bread with gravy and vegetable, dip this into a sweet-n-sour chutney and pop the lot in, allowing the individual flavors to hit the right spots on your palate! The round shape of the platter means that there's no hierarchy of foods here - you can even start off with dessert if you so desire! -- Thaali Tales at Masala Cook:: Indian Food, Indian Cooking, Indian Recipes & More

What Chef Dhar's Ayurvedic Thali's bowls hold:

• Homemade yogurt sweetened with honey and bananas.
• Dices of potatoes and fresh eggplant cooked with ginger, garlic and soaked
ayurvedic masala.
• Cauliflower, carrots and green pea cooked with coconut and a mustard
seed tempering.
• Homemade cheese cooked with fresh beetroot.
• Saffron rice.
• Sour lentils.
• Triangular pan fried bread.
• Sweet and spicy mango chutney.

Wikipedia begins its entry on Ayurveda, "Ayurveda (...'the 'science of life') is a system of traditional medicine native to India, and practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine." But medicine implies sickness. The philosophy behind this uses a balanced meal -- in whatever way that has meaning for you -- to set a harmonious tone.

Food must be delicious, even food as medicine. If you've tasted this one, please tell us about it in comments.

There are other kinds of thalis, too. Rasoi also serves an Ayurvedic-inspired Satvic Thali, pictured at right, and a Nirvana thali (menu).

Because the balance among dishes is carefully thought out, substitutions are discouraged. (At the Ayurveda Cafe on the Upper West Side of NYC, there is one thali each day. You walk in, sit down and it's what you're served. The menu lists only beverages. If you've made enough decisions for one day, its appeal is evident.)

Rasoi is just over the Pawtucket line from Providence's East Side, at 727 East Ave., in Blackstone Place between the Garden Grille Cafe and LJ's BBQ. Kabob and Curry is at 261 Thayer St. in Providence.