Not to get into regional essentialism, but the north vs south taste line is so clearly defined to me that, South Indian food tastes more Iike home food to me than northern Chinese food does. The same way North Indian food just never hits right. I like it okay, but it’s not.. the food from Kerala or Tamil Nadu or Karnataka that made me.
There are far more similarities at latitudes (south: more spices, warmer and more similar climate, more rice) than within nations.