South Indian Cuisine had an influence of foreign and native rulers. Since the South Indian climate is hot and they lie on the coastal areas of the country, the dishes are such that suits these features.

South Indian Meals are centred on rice or rice-based dishes. Rice is combined with Sambhar and Rasam, dry and curried vegetables and meat dishes and a host of coconut-based chutneys and Pappadums. Rice is combined with lentils to make wonderful dosas, idlis, vadas and utthapams. These items are glorious and delicious besides being nourishing and digestible. Biryani from Hyderabad, lemon rice, tomato rice and curd rice are some of the popular rice based dishes.

Chutneys are an accompaniment for a main dish in a South Indian meal. Generally Chutneys are wet or dry that has a thick to fine texture. Various types of Chutneys are Coconut chutney, Mint chutney, Tamarind chutney, Onion chutney, Tomato chutney, Mango chutney, Yogurt chutney and many more.

Coconut milk straight from the nut is a common beverage and sight in South India. Coffee is very popular in South India and Madras coffee is popular in South Indian restaurants throughout the world. The South Indian food is a brilliant amalgamation of taste, colours, seasoning, nutritional balance, aroma, savour and visual appeal.

The following are some varieties of South Indian Cuisine:

Kerala Cuisine
Kerala also has a mouth watering cuisine that comprises of Malabar cuisine. In Kerala, most curries always have a lot of coconut milk.

Tamil Nadu Cuisine
Tamil Nadu is famous for its filter coffee as most Tamils have a subtle contempt for instant coffee. Tamil Nadu has its Chettinadu cuisine that is very well known.

Andhra Pradesh Cuisine
Cuisine of Andhra Pradesh is well renowned not just in the country but also amongst the gourmet all over the world. Andhra Pradesh cuisine is basically vegetarian however it has a huge range of seafood in its coastal areas. Cuisine of Telengana and Cuisine of Rayalaseema are two sections of Andhra Pradesh cuisine. The cuisines of the Nizams are also very popular in Hyderabadi cuisine which is full of nuts, dried fruits and exotic, expensive spices like Saffron.

Karnataka Cuisine
Karnataka is blessed with a rich culinary heritage. Regional food habits differ vastly depending on locally available ingredients; the result is a richly varied spread. Kodagu cuisine, North Karnataka cuisine, Malenadu cuisine, South Karnataka cuisine are the divisions of Karnataka cuisine.