Those recs are absolutely not side dishes, but I see clearly now why all of the curries are so spicy. Anjappar and Appakadai, going by the names, are Chettinad restaurants, and Chettinad cuisine is very spicy, especially in restaurants. Note that Chettinad is in Tamil Nadu, and you can find other Tamil cuisines that are notoriously mild.
You really can’t make generalizations like South Indian food is spicier or less spicy than North Indian-Pakistani food because it is literally so regional and spice levels vary not only from community to community but even from family to family. I’d say you’d have better luck getting mild curries is an American style creamy Punjabi-Mughlai type restaurant, though.
I thought of another fave that is usually on the menu in those type of restaurants, though you may consider it a snack (though it’s a filling gut bomb): get kottu paratha at those places, it’s a chopped up paratha stir fried with egg, chicken (or vegetarian if you want) and spices but can be made not-hot. Curries, I really wouldn’t know what to tell you, though.
