Most Indian cuisines are related by similar usage of spices. Often, Indian cooking is distinguished by the use of a larger variety of vegetables than many other well-known cuisines. Within these recognizable similarities, there is an enormous variety of local styles. 

In the north and the west, Kashmiri and Mughlai cuisines show strong central Asian influences. Through the medium of Mughlai food, this influence has propagated into many regional kitchens. To the east, the Bengali and Assamese styles shade off into the cuisines of East Asia. 
All coastal kitchens make strong use of fish and coconuts. The desert cuisines of Rajasthan and Gujarat use an immense variety of dals and achars (preserves) to substitute for the relative lack of fresh vegetables. The use of tamarind to impart sourness distinguishes Tamil food. (''I've seen this statement before - for example, in a recent NewYorkTimes article - but in fact tamarind is used similarly in the cuisine of Karnataka as well.'') The Andhra kitchen is accused, sometimes unfairly, of using excessive amounts of chillies. 
All along the northern plain, from Punjab through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, a variety of flours are used to make chapatis and other closely related breads. In the rain-swept regions of the north-eastern foothills and along the coasts, a large variety of rices are used. Potatoes are not used as the staple carbohydrate in any part of India. 

If there's common thing about IndianCuisine, it's that all non-Indians love it and curse it as being too hot/spicy..

''I'm Indian, and have certainly met people (in the UnitedStatesOfAmerica) who don't like Indian food. And not all Indian food is spicy.''

Believe you me, what's bland for you is fire for another. (OneMansMeatAnotherMansPoison) ''There are plenty of Indian dishes with no pepper(s) in them at all.''

''I'm not Indian, although I was born in south India. There are lots of USians who dislike even the idea of Indian food. There are huge amounts of it that are not spicy, somewhat variable with regional cuisine... it is really difficult to lump all of the regions together in some sensible way. Furthermore, even the dishes which *ought* to be hot and spicy often aren't in US restaurants, in my experience. ''

I believe you are making an AmericanCulturalAssumption. IMO, most *non-Indians* find *real* Indian food spicy (lol) ''How can it be an cultural assumption when it is explicitly spelled out as comments about US residents and restaurants (one person's experience, of course). That doesn't make any sense.''

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Check out http://www.bawarchi.com - for excellent recipes (many user-contributed ones)

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CategoryFoodAndDrink