South Indian cuisine includes the cuisines of the five southern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana and the union territories of Lakshadweep, Pondicherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.The similarities among the five statesuisines include the presence of rice as a staple food, the use of lentils and spices, dried red chilies and fresh green chilies, coconut, and native fruits and vegetables including tamarind, plantain, snake gourd, garlic, and ginger. The four cuisines have muchin common and differ primarily in the spiciness of the food.The smell of crisp vadas, the sound of spluttering mustard seeds, the taste of piping-hot sambar made with fresh tamarind, and the touch of feather-light, soft idlis - there's no doubt that South Indian food is a treat to the senses..