31 Best South Indian Foods To Try in 2025

Introducing South Indian food into your dining life is easy when you know what dishes are available. The myriad of savory and sweet dishes of South India is a study of fresh ingredients blended creatively while adhering to the tradition that infuses every creation with a sense of heritage. While some South Indian foods are native to the area, many have arrived from other shores, creating a one-of-a-kind character made up of many components. Once you know the composition of the dishes and how they fit into your dining life, you can sample a few South Indian creations at a time to get a better idea of the variety of sublime tastes and textures represented by the region’s beloved culinary traditions.

Where do you start when it comes to trying South Indian food? Even if you’re not a newcomer to dishes of South India, expanding your palate can prove tricky without a bit of guidance. To give your voyage of culinary discovery a bit of direction, we’ve gathered a list of the 31 top picks to get your South Indian food taste test underway. With a mix of savory dishes, breads and desserts on the table, a journey into South Indian food is bound to be one of the most delicious culinary trips you’ve ever taken.

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• Get a Taste of Traditional South Indian Food
• The Best South Indian Dishes To Try
• The Best South Indian Desserts

Get a Taste of Traditional South Indian Food

Why rely on reservations or take-out at your favorite restaurant when you can create your own South Indian food? Cue up online cooking classes for a digital introduction to the art of home-cooked South Indian specialties made fresh in your own kitchen. If you'd prefer in-person lessons, discover cooking classes near you that offer face-to-face expert-led instruction in handcrafted cuisine. These sessions are perfect for experimenting with the ingredients, methods and flavor profiles that make the finest dishes of South India a welcome addition to your usual fare.

The Best South Indian Dishes To Try

1. Pongal

Pongal is a South Indian food reminiscent of rice pudding, created by boiling rice or lentils in milk instead of water. Depending on how it’s prepared, pongal can be served as a breakfast food, a dinner accompaniment or a dessert dish. It’s also the traditional food of the Pongal Festival, a harvest celebration observed in mid-January. Although, such a delicious morsel is a happy occasion, no matter when you decide to dig in.

2. Coconut Rice

South Indian dining doesn’t get much simpler than coconut rice. As the name announces, the base dish is a mix of coconut and rice, seasoned with a variety of earthy and spicy add-ins. Nuts and lentils can be tossed on top to add warm flavor and a crunch texture to the finished dish. Tinkering with the ratio of coconut to rice lets every chef achieve a balance that works best for their gourmet sensibilities.

3. Palkatti Chettinad

Palkatti Chettinad is a dish that represents the cuisine of the Chettinad region of South India, with traditional creations renowned for the sophisticated flavors and generous use of earthy spices. Palkatti is a soothing concoction featuring cottage cheese-like paneer cooked in a vegetable gravy, flavored with roasted spices, and added to a base of onions and tomatoes. It’s South Indian food with a comfort cuisine twist that can be enjoyed on its own or as part of a larger meal.

4. Dosas

Think of dosas as the South Indian food equivalent of a French crêpe. These thin, tender flatbreads are perfect for rolling up around meat and vegetable dishes, though they’re often served with chutney spreads as a simple snack. Dosas are one of the more familiar dishes in Indian restaurants, which means you may have already tried this South Indian food staple once or twice. 

5. Idli

The savory rice cake called idli is a South Indian food often seen as a breakfast favorite that uses a batter made of rice and fermented black lentils. The basic idlis can be served plain or jazzed up with spices, herbs or sliced vegetables for extra flavor. Though idli is now firmly ensconced in South Indian cookbooks, this creation is believed to have originated in Indonesia as a dish called kedli.

6. Vada

A vada is a savory doughnut that gives South Indian food a unique pastry made from potatoes, lentils or sago (a palm-based starch). The dough is shaped into rings and deep fried for a crispy outer skin that gives way to a tender interior. This South Indian food makes a fantastic breakfast or snack, giving eager eaters a doughy dish that’s hearty in taste and texture.

7. Uttapam

Another form of the popular dosa, uttapam is a blend of rice and lentils soaked until soft, then blended into a batter. The batter is allowed to ferment before being spread in a frying pan and topped with aromatics and vegetables. This South Indian food often seen as a breakfast staple turns a pancake variation into a savory sensation. Uttapam is a distant cousin of thosai, an ancient dish from Singapore that’s prepared and served in a similar fashion to the South Indian version.

8. Kori Gassi

Kori gassi is a spicy chicken curry dish from the coastal port of Mangalore, with a touch of subtle heat provided by a coconut milk sauce infused with byadagi chiles. Anyone familiar with curry, in general, will find this South Indian food an enticing take on the usual recipe. Though the chiles are robust rather than overly hot, the fire can be made more intense by increasing the concentration of chiles in the recipe.

9. Sambar

Simmer vegetables in a tamarind-based broth and you get sambar, a hearty South Indian food that’s perfect for plant-based eaters to enjoy. Lentils cooked separately are mashed and added to create a rich chowder-like texture, with flavors arising from mustard seed, red chiles and curry leaves. It’s perfect as a stand-alone dish, though rice makes a lovely accompaniment.

10. Aloo Bonda

Aloo (potato) bonda is a popular South Indian food similar to hush puppies, with balls of starchy dough deep-fried until crispy and served with dipping sauces. Potato is the most common ingredient used to make the base, though it can also be created using tapioca, sweet potato and a variety of other plant-based starches. Though aloo bonda is usually available as a savory dish, bonda itself can be found in both sweet and savory variations.   

11. Malabar Parotta

Fans of flat bread will adore Malabar parotta — a flaky, chewy South Indian food made of flour and butter or oil. This dish was introduced to South India via migrant workers from the Sri Lankan Tamil culture. Think of it as the equivalent of a tortilla, ready to be torn into strips and eaten on its own, spread with savory toppings or used to scoop up curries and stews.

12. Biryani

If you've eaten in an Indian restaurant, you've most likely seen biryani listed on the menu. Herbal fragrance and soft floral rice are the most notable features of this lively dish, which can include meats, vegetables or both. If South Indian food has a fried rice or pilaf-style representative on the international dinner table, biryani is the dish that invites comparison while adding its own distinctive personality.

13. Appam

A mix of coconut milk and fermented rice results in the bubbly batter used to make fluffy appam, a lacy, pancake-like bread made in its own dedicated pan, named for the dish. With texture and flavor that are equally intriguing, this South Indian food is often paired with stews or tangy chutneys. Though considered a breakfast bread by many, it’s a popular street food that can be enjoyed with any meal or on its own as a savory snack.

14. Sundal

The simplicity of sundal makes this blend of legumes and vegetables a South Indian food staple on tables and in street food stalls around the region. The essentials include chickpeas or white peas sautéed with aromatic spices and sprinkled with coconut or peanuts. It’s often left as an offering for divinity at temples and is a favorite at Hindu festivals.

15. Meen Pollichathu

If you ever find yourself in a local toddy shop in the South Indian region, meen pollichathu is a must-try. At the heart of this tasty, filling meal is a pearl spot fish, known as a karimeen, commonly found in the Kerala waters. The fish is painted with a tomato and onion masala for that zesty touch before being wrapped and cooked in a banana leaf. Pair this delicious South Indian food with rice or enjoy it on its own for a meal you won't be able to walk away from. 

16. Rasam

Rasam is one of the simpler South Indian foods to prepare at home — a soup that combines tangy broth with zesty herbs, tomato and tamarind, a native pod-based fruit. It’s a quick and easy candidate for getting your introduction to South Indian dining off to a simple, delicious start.

The Best South Indian Desserts

17. Paal Payasam

While this simple South Indian food may be a four-ingredient pudding made from rice-cooked clarified butter (ghee), milk and sugar, it has a rich history that belies its humble presentation. As legend has it, the Indian deity Lord Krishna allowed a king to pay his debt from losing a game of chess by serving paal payasam to pilgrims in the local temple. That’s quite a heritage for such an unassuming dish!

18. Ada Pradhaman

The unrefined cane sugar known as jaggery is a core ingredient in ada pradhaman. This sweet South Indian food features a sauce made from a mix of jaggery, coconut milk and earthy cardamom, which is poured over strips of a rice batter-based pastry. The result is a rich dessert that can be dressed up with nuts and raisins for added flavor and flair.  

19. Coconut burfi

Sometimes known as barfi, coconut burfi is a milk-based confection that gives South Indian cuisine its own distinctive form of fudge. There’s no chocolate in this sweet creation, just a wholesome combination of ghee, sugar, milk powder, dried coconut and ground cardamom. The simpler the recipe for this classic treat, the more delicious the final product will be.

20. Gulab Jamun

With a cardamom and rose water-infused syrup soaking tender spheres of milky sweetness, gulab jamun gives South Indian food a decadent dessert that bears a striking resemblance to peeled plums. These soft fritters are made from milk powder and paneer, rolled into balls and deep-fried before being topped with the floral liquid for melt-in-the-mouth indulgence.

21. Payasam

Payasam is a sweetened porridge that can be made from vermicelli, tapioca or rice boiled in milk and sugar. Saffron and cardamom provide the warm essences so beloved in South Indian food, while nuts and dried fruit, like raisins or apricots, provide a contrasting texture and an extra layer of flavor.

22. Poornam Boorelu

Treat yourself to poornam boorelu to taste a South Indian food that rivals traditional doughnuts for delicious dessert charm. A rice dumpling filled with a paste formed from lentils and dried fruit, it’s a sweet-and-savory mash-up topped with melted butter that makes eating the fried spheres one at a time a tempting challenge.

23. Sunnundalu

Another sweet and spherical South Indian treat, sunnundalu consists of a simple dough made from roasted lentil flour, jaggery and ghee, rolled into balls and served without baking or frying. They’re a nutty treat similar in texture to truffles, though far less sweet and without a candy or chocolate coating.

24. Godu Phovu

Godu phovu is a distinctly different offering among sweet South Indian food, eschewing the legume-centered base for one that uses rice flakes, mixed into a syrup made from jaggery and ghee. Cardamom powder and sesame seeds add flavor and crunch to a loose, uncooked dough scooped into balls and served fresh at room temperature.

25. Rava Kesari

The vivid golden hue of rava kesari makes this South Indian creation a treat for both the eyes and the tastebuds. The chewy texture comes from a blend of semolina and cashews roasted in ghee and boiled to form a paste. Sugar and food coloring are added to bestow visual and gustatory sweetness to the dough, which is spread into a prepared pan or smaller molds and allowed to cool.

26. Badusha

Badusha may be the South Indian food voted most similar to a glazed doughnut by Westerners with an eye for familiar treats. Though the texture is denser and the fried dough is soaked in syrup rather than drenched in glaze, the resemblance is close enough to grant this confection a place on celebratory tables.

27. Sweet Idli

Fermented black lentils and rice flour make an appearance in sweet idli, a dessert version of savory idli, imbued with a cake-like texture and soft vanilla-coconut flavor. Variations of this tantalizing two-bite South Indian food use semolina instead of lentils and eliminate the fermentation to simplify the process.

28. Holige

At first glance, holige looks like a South Indian food that’s similar to its fellow flatbreads; however, the inclusion of jaggery or sugar in the recipe gives these wheat-based pita-like pockets a dose of sweetness that distinguishes them from the pack. With cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon shoring up the flavor profile, it’s a popular tray topper found on tables at Diwali, Holi and wedding celebrations. Some recipes include a filling made from sesame powder and jaggery, tucking a flavorful surprise into the pocket-like interiors.  

29. Dharwad Peda

Karnataka is the state of origin for dharwad peda, a sweet South Indian food made from paneer cooked down in ghee until it becomes golden brown in color, then blended into powder and roasted to achieve a pliable, dough-like consistency. The confection is then rolled into oval shapes, rolled in sugar and served fresh for optimal enjoyment.

30. Badam Halwa

Almond meal joins the South Indian ingredient line-up in the form of badam halwa, a tasty treat that gives the familiar combination of ghee, cardamom and saffron flavorings a nutty boost. This quick and easy creation is a great make-at-home recipe that even novice cooks can get the hang of to dip their toes in the world of South Indian cuisine.

31. Boondi Ladoo

With boondi ladoo, chickpea flour batter is dropped into boiling oil to create fritter-like spheres that are transferred to a sugary syrup to provide a sweet, crispy coating. The finished concoction is cooled slightly before being rolled into balls and served in a decorative stack. This South Indian food is a more advanced creation that takes a fair amount of skill to create, but the end result is worth the extra effort.

Though many of the basic ingredients in South Indian food may be commonly encountered by Western eaters, the treatment given to these components is unique to regional cuisine from Asia and the Asian sub-continent. Add a hearty helping of quintessentially Eastern spices and seasonings and you have the makings of a cultural buffet that feels simultaneously familiar and fresh. Whether you seek out recipes to create your own South Indian dishes, sample South Indian food at restaurants in your area or embark on a voyage to the region to get a first-hand taste, you’re in for a true epicurean treat.

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