A Culinary Tour of India, Right in Our Own Backyard

Mintza Restaurant: 2245 West Devon

Join us on an adventure in our own neighborhood, organized by Culinary Historian and popular RPWRHS tour guide, Colleen Taylor Sen. Whether you already love Indian food or are a curious newcomer to the cuisine, you can savor the regional dishes of India right here at home.

Each event in the series is especially designed for the Culinary Historians of Chicago and the Rogers Park West Ridge Historical Society, joint sponsors of the program. Colleen chooses the menu and explains how each dish fits into the cuisine of its region.

At the first dinner we enjoyed the delicious cuisine of Hyderabad. This time we’ll savor a taste of Kerala, a small state on southwestern tip of India. Kerala offers beautiful scenery, diverse communities, and delicious cuisine, prepared with aromatic (but not hot!) spices and coconut. 

Kerala is known for its appams — delicate crepes made from a rice and coconut milk batter — but Colleen’s chosen menu includes a full range of regional specialties including Rasam (lentil soup), Duck Curry spiced with peppers in a coconut milk gravy, Payasam (sweet rice pudding) and more.