If I could throw my $ 0.02 into the mix - most or all foodstuffs deemed 'Indian' in North America or outside of the Subcontinent is primarily going to have either Punjabi or Gujarati origins... Tikka and tandoori rely on the tandoori oven, which was imported from Turkey and/or Persia/Iran during the course of India's history... When I travelled the coastline from Mumbai/Bombay (although I flew into Delhi) down south then back up to Calcutta, there definitely are regional specialties (as you would encounter goin' through any country)... A lot of the dishes that I had in Kerala and Tamil Nadu went heavy on coconut milk, similar to what you'd find in Malaysia/Singapore (which isn't surprising given the immigration patterns from India to that part of SE Asia: primarily Tamils from Tamil Nadu, not Sri Lanka)... And the West Bengalis sure love freshwater fish as a staple of their diet (and as a holdover from bein' the capital of British colonial India, Calcutta offers dishes such as shrimp cutlet)...
The Kerala stuff is where it's at for me. You get the best of the vegan/vegetarian side of the south, but with a lot more dairy and fish thrown in.
Comments
The Kerala stuff is where it's at for me. You get the best of the vegan/vegetarian side of the south, but with a lot more dairy and fish thrown in.