Why is South Indian food different from North Indian food?

[Dubious]

Only weird Hyderabadi dish I know is the Zabaan Nihari.

Is that tongue

 

[nair]

HOTEL DEFENCE.PK

This thread has some amazing south indian foods.....

 

[takeiteasy]

And contrary to popular belief in India.. Sri Lankan food is more similar to Kerala food than food from Tamil Nadu.. Both in terms of ingredients and meat consumption

But Sri Lankan food is more unique than South Indian food, because it's a fusion of Native, South Indian, Dutch, Malay, Moorish, Chinese and British influenced cuisine

well, that may be because people from Malabar have lived in Ceylon many decades back(it's a fact). they may have introduced our cuisine there? otherwise, Appam, Puttu and many such items are original to Kerala. our people were unaware of Srilankans have similar food until the Kerala food items exported to overseas finds Srilankan buyers. besides, who eats Puttu, Appam in Srilanka? Sinhalese or Tamils?
Keralan food gets Lankan mouths watering - The Times of India

 

[INDIC]

Is that tongue

Lamb's tongue but rarest in restaurants because of the ingredient.

 

[acetophenol]

When the culture is different between south and North, so is the food.... I am from a small state called Kerala, where in every district food is different... to know more about mallu food, there is already one thread created by @acetophenol on hotel kerala or something....

HOTEL DEFENCE.PK

 

[nair]

HOTEL DEFENCE.PK

I found it post #318

 

[INDIC]

HOTEL DEFENCE.PK

You have also put price tag.

 

[nair]

You have also put price tag.

He has closed down that..... Huge loss and High outstanding..... all guys from PDF ate in credit.... actually the restaurant is seized by the supermarket owner for not paying kirana......

 

[acetophenol]

I found it post #318

 

[Gibbs]

well, that may be because people from Malabar have lived in Ceylon many decades back(it's a fact). they may have introduced our cuisine there? otherwise, Appam, Puttu and many such items are original to Kerala. our people were unaware of Srilankans have similar food until the Kerala food items exported to overseas finds Srilankan buyers. besides, who eats Puttu, Appam in Srilanka? Sinhalese or Tamils?
Keralan food gets Lankan mouths watering - The Times of India

Mainly Sinhalese food consists of Hoppers,String Hoppers, Pittu etc.. But it's not uniform and is common among all Lankans including Tamils

Plus Malayali influence in the island goes back centuries if not more, Than decades as you mentioned

 

[acetophenol]

You have also put price tag.

It was my evil plan to take over def.pk

 

[Dubious]

Lamb's tongue but rarest in restaurants because of the ingredient.

Yuck!

 

[T90TankGuy]

Only weird Hyderabadi dish I know is the Zabaan Nihari.

Come on man i love it . but i must admit its an acquired taste

 

[Kaalapani]

Add Mangalore/Dakshina Kannada to that list. It's pretty much the same. Though that is not the only part of the cuisine.



Andhra Chicken dishes are for "crazy South Indians" only. Others might explode on contact.

you are correct Bunny.

 

[The Snow Queen]

Hi, I am from South India (Chennai). Yes, south Indian food is quite different from North Indian and I also believe the western part of India (Gujarat etc..) and Eastern (West Bengal etc..) also have their own unique cuisines. This, in my opinion, stems from the differing climates and conditions that exist in India (as it is a vast country). Also India has several unique cultures and languages to the extent that someone from Tamil Nadu has more culturally in common with Sri Lankans than with North Indians!
In the South yes, we do have several unique dishes. In the state of Kerala, a lot of coconut is used in their dishes and I also believe they eat a lot of sea food as well. In Tamil Nadu, we have the staple food which is rice along with Sambar , Rasam, Kuzhambus and various curries, known as porials. Poriyals are fried or sautaed vegetables and can be potatoes, okras etc...
Usually for breakfast, we eat Dosas (similar to pancakes) or Idlis along with chutneys (coconut, tomato etc..) and chilli powder w/oil. For lunch we eat meals (which is what I mentioned above) which is usually 3 rice dishes along with Sambar/Kuzhambu, Rasam and Curd separately. Also, 'parupu' (dal) can be added for sambar and kuzhambu rices. These dishes are complimented with Poriyals and 'appalams' which are similar to papadams and pickles. In addition, for special occasions or just for a change there is also a dish called 'kootu' made of vegetables that is mixed with rice as well. For the evening tiffin, there are again a variety of dishes. The most common are Upmas (which is also eaten for breakfast), dosas, idlis, bajjis etc... For dinner, again rice is eaten with poriyal. There
Also, there are variety of different Sambars/Kuzhambus/Rasam/Kootus with different vegetables. For example there is tomator rasam, garlic rasam, lime rasam etc...
Similarly there are also a variety of different dosas, idlis, upmas made with different vegetables. For example there is onion dosa, rava dosa( made with different batter) etc...
This is the typical full south Indian food eaten. However, usually people also eat chappatis and sabjis as well and these days the cuisines are mixed increasingly.
The other south indian cuisines (Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala) all have their own unique dishes. For example, Andhra is known for its 'gongura pickle' and Hyderbad Biriyani and Kerala for its 'Avial' which is a dish with mixed vegetables, coconut and curd. But in general, all of the south indian cuisines are quite similar with each having a little uniqueness.
Fyi, this was all vegetarian based (as I am mainly vegetarian). There are also meat based kozhambus, poriyals and other dishes For example, Malabar Chicken is famous from Kerala, which is made with ginger, coconut milk etc...
Hope this was informative

Good and informative answer!