Curry Fest Chicago is a global curry festival โ 100+ curry traditions from every corner of the world, gathered under one roof at McCormick Place to beat the cold season. This isn't a single-cuisine food festival: it's a world tour of how different cultures build a curry, from the Caribbean to South Asia to East and Southeast Asia to Africa, brought together for one epic day.
One World. One Community. Endless Flavor. Our goal is simple: welcome curry lovers from every continent to Chicago, and send them home with a passport full of new favorite dishes.
Curry Fest Chicago is organized as a true world tour โ fourteen pavilions across all seven continents, each built around the ingredients, techniques, and history of that part of the world. Six continents host real vendors; the seventh, Antarctica, gets an honorary pavilion because even the most isolated place on Earth has a curry tradition worth telling.
The core of the festival โ India's four culinary macro-regions, plus Sri Lankan coconut curries and Nepali tarkari. See the full showcase below.
Full Showcase BelowThai Green, Red, and Massaman curries, Malaysian Rendang and Curry Laksa, Indonesian Gulai and Opor, and Filipino Kare-Kare.
Japanese Katsu Curry (Kare Raisu), Hong Kong-style curry fish balls, and Korean curry rice.
Persian Khoresh, Yemeni Saltah, and Gulf-style curries shaped by centuries of Indian Ocean trade.
Tagines and spiced stews built on preserved lemon and ras el hanout.
Nigerian Curry Chicken and rich groundnut (peanut) stew.
Zanzibari coconut curries carrying direct Indian Ocean trade influence, and Ethiopian Wat.
Cape Malay Curry, Durban Curry, and South African Bunny Chow.
Featured Dish BelowJamaican Goat Curry and Curry Chicken, built on the island's signature curry powder blend and Scotch bonnet heat, plus Trinidadian Roti.
Featured Dish BelowModern curry fusion โ food-truck culture and Indo-Caribbean-American mashups.
Indo-Caribbean curry traditions carried by Indian indentured laborers, alongside Brazilian Moqueca, a curry-adjacent coconut stew.
Chicken Tikka Masala and Balti โ Britain's own curry house culture โ alongside Dutch-Indonesian Rijsttafel and Portuguese Piri Piri and Vindaloo roots.
Fijian curry โ a near-national dish thanks to a large Indo-Fijian population โ Kiwi curry pies, and modern Australian fusion.
No countries, no booths โ just decades of "Curry Night" keeping morale up through the polar winter at research stations from Japan's Showa Station to the US's McMurdo and South Pole stations. This pavilion honors the real Whole Onion Curry (ไธธใใจ็ใญใใซใฌใผ) made famous by The Chef of South Polar โ a reminder that curry has reached every continent on Earth, including the one with no permanent population at all.
Chef-driven mashups that blend two or more curry traditions into something entirely new.
Rich, deeply spiced, yogurt-based dishes with fennel and ginger โ best known through Rogan Josh.
The crowd-pleasing, buttery comfort food of North India โ Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani.
Coastal, vibrant, Portuguese-influenced heat โ Vindaloo and coconut-based fish stews.
Layered South Indian heat built on fresh-ground black pepper, fennel, and curry leaves.
Lighter and fragrant โ seafood or vegetables in coconut milk, mustard seed, and tamarind.
Beyond these five signature profiles, India celebrates curry through dozens of regional festivals year-round. Here's the fuller map South Asian Avenue draws from:
Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana โ royal kitchens, winter harvests, and rich gravies.
Awadhi curries, fragrant kormas, and spice-rich galouti kababs
Preserved Nawabi recipes, royal meat curries
Anglo-Indian classics like Railway Mutton Curry & Country Captain Chicken
India's largest food fest โ dozens of curry stalls from top restaurants
Street-style curries, chole, kadhi, and regional curry bites
Pan-Asian curries (Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese) alongside Indian
Hyderabadi, Persian & colonial curry influences
Laal Maas, Gatte ki Sabzi, Ker Sangri โ fiery desert curries
Royal Rajasthani curry spread
Showcasing Rajasthan's culinary traditions
Butter Chicken, Dal Makhani, and rich Punjabi curries
Sarson da Saag, Makki di Roti, and hearty winter curries
Kadhi, Pindi Chana, and Langar dal โ community curry feasts
Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland โ mustard oil, bamboo shoot, and harvest-season fish curries.
Nabanna (new rice) feast with fish curry, lentil curries
Bengali fish curries (Machher Jhol) with mustard oil
Mutton curry, fish preparations, and khichuri with labra
Traditional Bengali curries with seasonal vegetables
GI-tagged Lakadong turmeric, bamboo shoot curries
Bamboo Shoot Curry, sticky rice with meat curries
Naga pork curries with ghost peppers and bamboo shoots
Curries from Himalayan and Western Ghat regions
Tenga (sour fish curry) with elephant apple or lemon
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh โ coastal seafood, festival sweets, and desert-spiced meats.
Global spice-centric curries with workshops
Goan Fish Curry (coconut milk), Prawn Balchรฃo, Caldeirada
Explosive Saoji curries with dark roasted spice blends
Malvani fish and seafood curries with dry coconut
Traditional Maharashtrian curries and street food
Vegetarian curries with jaggery and lime โ Undhiyu, Kadhi
Winter vegetable curry โ a Gujarati signature
Special Rajasthani curries prepared for the occasion
50+ Rajasthani dishes โ Gatte ki Sabji, Sangri ki Sabji
Laal Maas and Jungli Maas โ fiery meat curries
Dal Baati Churma, Laal Maas, Ker Sangri
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra & Telangana โ coconut, curry leaf, and the boldest heat on the subcontinent.
Chettinad curries with complex spice mixtures
Kerala-style curries with black pepper, cloves, cardamom
26 curries served on banana leaves โ Parippu Curry, Inji Curry, etc.
Traditional vegetarian curry feast
Special curries prepared during this DecemberโJanuary festival
Curries from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra, and Udupi
Signature South Indian curries from Chef Chinna
Mirchi Ka Salan, Bagara Baingan, Khatti Dal
Slow-cooked Hyderabadi haleem โ a meat curry classic
Deccan-inspired curries with Persian and Nizami influences
Nawabi curries, Hyderabadi biryani, rich meat dishes
400-year-old regional curries from Rayalaseema
Fiery Guntur chili curries โ among India's spiciest
Iconic red chili ghee-roasted curries from coastal Karnataka
Vegetarian curries with coconut and spices
Fragrant Kerala-style fish curry with coconut milk
Kodava-style pork and spice curries from the hills
A few of the dishes headlining this year's pavilions: Thai Green Curry, Japanese Katsu Curry, Jamaican Goat Curry, Malay Rendang, and South African Bunny Chow โ alongside the full India regional lineup above.
The marketplace pairs the food with live cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs representing each pavilion, a global spirits and rum-tasting lounge, and a main stage positioned away from the food stalls to keep the acoustics balanced throughout the pavilion.
From Kingston to Kolkata, Bangkok to Lagos โ Curry Fest Chicago is built to welcome guests from every continent. With 100+ global curry connections under one roof, we're aiming to bring 10,000 attendees from around the world to McCormick Place for one epic day of food and community.
