The most famous Mughlai food came to India with the Mughals.  The India's tandoori food which is well known and appreciated in the western world, has barbecued chicken and mutton which is spiced and marinated in yohgurt for a few hours before it is cooked, makes it eater lick their fingers again and again.

Bengalis cannot live without seafish, their preference is for fresh water fish. Bengal is also famous for its sweets. Some of the  typical sweets that come from Bengal are Sandesh and Rasgullas, made in different ways from cottage cheese and of course their  misti doi which is just sweetened yoghurt. 

For vegetarians, South India is a heaven. Their vegetarian food provides a lot of variety, especially the Brahmin cuisine which is different from the non-Brahmin food. The orthodox South Indian  Brahmin is a strict vegetarian steering away from even garlic and onion for smell and from tomatoes because of their colour. It is a combination of tamarind, spices and vegetables which makes Sambhar their staple dish and is eaten twice a day. Rasam (Mulligatawny) a thin, peppery, lentil-based soup, is taken at both lunch and dinner.

However the most popular dishes that have come out of the South are dosas and Idlis. Their popularity has spread throughout the country to an extent that the Idli and dosa eating joints can be found as far in the Himalayas as Leh in Ladakh or Sikkim. Bhutan and Kathmandu. Both are made with a mixture of ground fermented rice and dal. They are served with sambhar, and coconut chutney. Dosas are griddle-fried pancakes, Idlis are more like steamed dumplings. Though there is a measure of similarity between the foods of the four states of South India, there is one pocket where the cuisine is different. This is Hyderabad which was once ruled by the Muslim Nizams. Typical Hyderabadi food has Muslim overtones and includes several dishes that are unique to this area, such as baghara baigan, a distinctive dish of mutton. The biryani in Hyderabad also tastes different.

Food in Bombay(Mumbai) is different from food in the rest of the country. This is perhaps due to the presence of small but influential communities of Parsis, who came from Iran a thousand years ago, and other minorities like the Sindhis, Punjabis, Goans and Khoja Muslim. .Dhansak, a contribution of the Parsis, is a dish made with chicken or lamb and cooked with generously spiced Puree of a mixture of lentils and vegetables. Dhansak is served in many restaurants of Bombay(Mumbai), specially on Sundays.

Bombay Duck is the nick name of a sea fish, very tasty when curried or fried. The Maharashtrians and the Gujaratis, the original natives of this region, have their quota of meat-eaters. But the majority of them are vegetarians. Like their counterparts among South Indian Brahmins, they have mastered the art of vegetarian cooking. Their cuisine involves subtle spicing and light cooking using sprouted lentils - to produce palatable and nutritious meals. They favour sweet and sour dishes.

India offers a vast variety of breads. Unlike in the West, these breads are the mainstay of Indian meals. Chappatis and Nans are cooked in an oven or Tandoor.  Some breads like puris are fried in deep fat and parathas are pan-fried with a little fat, preferably pure clarified butter (Ghee).

Indians love sweets and want to eat sweets with every meal. Each region has its own specialties. Basically , various regional recipes are different forms of rice puddings, milk puddings, vegetable fruits dipped in sweet syrup. Besides, there are varieties of milk-based  Barfies and pastries. Combinations of all these offer hundreds of varieties. These are decorated with raisins, almonds, pistachio and the like. Most commonly used ingredient is Khoa made by boiling milk to remove the moisture.  Adding butter, sugar and flavors to it gives us the famous desserts of India- barfi, malai, kheer, rasgulla and sandesh.