On Tuesday, the Purdue Memorial Union held a grand opening and ribbon cutting for the newest addition to its assortment of restaurants. Since the semester began, Choolaah has served Indian BBQ and many other staples of homestyle Indian cuisine.
“We pull from all over the subcontinent with our recipes,” said Cris McFarlin, Choolaah’s Vice President of Business Innovation. “We also want to make sure we do it in an approachable way, so that those students that have maybe never experienced Indian food … aren’t afraid to try it for the first time.”
Choolaah staff cut the ceremonial ribbon in front of the kitchen at the grand opening ceremony.
Charlie Stapleton | Photo & Video Editor
Purdue Food Co. has been thinking about opening an Indian restaurant for a long time. Jonathan Anderson, the Food Service Director of the PMU, said that he was happy to make that a reality.
“Something I’ve heard pretty strongly since I’ve come in here is that students wanted good Indian food,” Anderson said. “The student reaction has been super, super positive. That’s really what we wanted to have … to feel a little taste of home.”
Purdue Memorial Union food service director Johnathan Anderson and Choolaah vice president of business innovation Cris McFarlin explain the decision to bring the Indian BBQ restaurant to the PMU. Anderson and McFarlin emphasized the importance of a halal restaurant to give students more dining options.
Charlie Stapleton | Photo & Video Editor
Providing options to those with dietary restrictions was also important for Purdue, which is one of the reasons Choolaah fit in the PMU, Anderson said. Choolaah has multiple vegetarian and vegan options for protein, and their entire menu is halal.
“We’ve got something for everyone,” McFarlin said. “You can eat in an exciting and flavorful way without having to settle for the same old tofu or the same old salad just because you don’t eat meat.”
With the primarily positive response from students, and plenty of excitement to have an Indian restaurant on campus, it seems like Choolaah has found its audience.
Teddy Porfiriev, a student in aeronautics and astronautics, appreciated having another dining option in the PMU.
“I’ve been really liking this here,” Porfiriev said. “I live in Hawkins, so this is the easiest place for me to get food. So I have had pretty much every place here, and it’s really nice to have some extra diversity.”
As well as providing vegetarian and vegan options, Choolaah serves all of the classic Indian cuisine, like tikka masala and naan, which are staple pieces of almost every customer’s order. One of Choolaah’s objectives is to make trying new dishes approachable, McFarlin said.
“I am very much not a spice guy, I’m from Iowa,” Anderson said. “(I get) butter masala, with the sweet tango sauce on top, and I get all the veggies, even the peppers.”
Part of making these dishes easy to try is toning down the heat level. Indian food can be intimidating when the spice level is unknown, especially if someone is not used to eating spicy foods, so Choolaah has a way to make it easily controllable.
“We leave all the spice and the flavor in there, but we take out the heat,” McFarlin said. “We have our signature hot sauces on the side so that you can dial up the heat as much or as little as you’d like.”
Choolaah offers a variety of meal options, including the popular power bowl.
Charlie Stapleton | Photo & Video Editor
Sharing culture and food is one of the reasons Choolaah was founded in the first place, and that job will certainly be done at its location in the PMU. Choolaah’s placement right in front of the southern entrance to the basement fills the area with spices and smells from the moment you open the door.
“Our two founders immigrated from India to the United States as college students, so they’re passionate, not just about bringing their culture and their food here to the United States, but especially to college campuses,” McFarlin said. “They know what it can be like as a college student to have a difficult time finding food that feels like home.”
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Dining and Cooking