Cuisine from southern part of India offers a variety of popular dishes. South Indian cuisine is known to display a wide range of options to the vegetarian and non-vegetarian food lovers. Popular south Indian dishes like Idli, dosa and sambhar are the most savoured items loved across India.
Cooking pattern in the four southern states of India, namely, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu largely remains the same. Rice is the staple food in most parts of the southern India. Rice, lentils, grains and vegetables along with chutneys, pickles and papaddams (papads) constitute a standard meal for the people of southern India.
Kerala - A typical Kerala meal for special occasions is referred to as 'sadya', it is served on banana leaves and is a very tempting mix of spicy vegetable like kaalan, olan, aviyal, thoran etc. Most dishes in Kerala are made from coconut and rich spices which add distinct flavor to these dishes. Kerala cuisine also has a rich variety of chutneys and pickles to spice up the taste buds.
Andhra Pradesh - It is known to have the spiciest cuisine among the southern states and is very famous throughout India. Chutneys and pickles are a common addition to most of the dishes. Andhra Pradesh has a good mix of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian cooking. The Hyderabadi cuisine is very famous and largely revolves around non-vegetarian dishes. Dosa, Upma, Pulihara, Hyderabadi Biryani, Chekkalu, pulusu and chaaru are some of the popular offerings of the Andhra cuisine. Food lovers in the country enjoy the famous Hyderbadi Biryani.
Karnataka - Bisi bele bath, jola roti, idli, masala dosa, palya and gojju are very popular items on offer by the Karnataka region. Udupi is a famous cuisine originating from Karnataka and is considered to be the inventor of the famous 'Masala Dosa'. A chain of popular udupi restaurants all over India are also a testament to the huge popularity of this Karnataka cuisine.
Tamil Nadu - Chettinad cuisine is one of the famous of Tamil Nadu cuisines originating from the chettinad region of Tamil Nadu and offers a wide variety of spices and non-vegetarian dishes. 'Sappadu' means a full-course meal in Tamil Nadu which include dishes which are served in a sequential fashion on banana leaves. Idli, Dosa and Puliyodarai are the most popular inclusions in Tamil cuisine.