Visiting the Chickasaw Cultural Center was one of the highlights of our time in Oklahoma and a must-see if you will be in the Sooner State. The large campus is beautiful and has so much to see and do. One of the many things you don't want to miss is the Aaimpa Cafe. We loved trying traditional Chickasaw foods that we'd never had before.
If you can't make it to Oklahoma, you can taste what you're missing with Ilimpac'chi': We're Gonna Eat! (affiliate link). This Chickasaw cookbook is packed with interesting recipes, as well as a lot of interesting cultural information, photos, and personal stories. The recipes are a mix of newer and more traditional Chickasaw recipes.
Chickasaw language lessons are scattered throughout the cookbook. Bread ("paska") is my favorite food, so these are the most important phrases for me.
I recently made Molasses Bread ("Paska Champoli'"), which is both in the cookbook and on their website. I was mystified by the instructions to bake it in an "oblong" pan - no size given. There wasn't enough batter for a 9x13, but an 8x8 seemed reasonable (even though it's square and not oblong!). But that's part of the fun of traditional recipes, right?! The bread was delicious.
If you are interested in the cuisine of other Native cultures, there are a lot of indigenous cookbooks available on Amazon. If cooking isn't your thing but eating is, be sure to check out my article about the best indigenous restaurants in the US. And let me know if you have any to add. I'd love to check them out.
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