4 minute read
RED FORT CUISINE OF INDIA
from FLAVOR Fall 2024
Family Run, Family Friendly
By Alan Heathcock
Jaspreet Kaur and Parminder Bhatti were considering expanding Red Fort Cuisine of India beyond the borders of Utah, where Singh’s family had been operating restaurants since her father opened his first in the early ‘90s. They were looking at properties online and came across a building in Meridian that had been the home of The Hideaway, a bar and grill that, despite being featured on the television show “Bar Rescue,” had recently closed. The building fit their needs, and off they went. Red Fort has now been in Meridian for a little over a year and has quickly established itself as one of the Treasure Valley’s best options for Indian cuisine.
For anyone who pays close attention to the restaurant world, it’s widely accepted that success is hard won. Margins are tight. Staffing is difficult. Diners are fickle. That there are now six Red Fort locations, four in Utah, one in Meridian, and a newly opened restaurant in Las Vegas, is nothing short of exceptional. When asked about the secret to their success, Jaspreet said, “It’s the service, the environment, the food. We’re a family restaurant, and we want our diners to feel like family. I’ve always said that we don’t make great Indian food. We make great food.”
It’s true that certain meals within the Indian cuisine lexicon have become normalized in the minds of your average American diner. Dishes like tikka masala, butter chicken (chicken makhani), and yellow curry are familiar enough that the idea of taking the entire family out for Indian cuisine has become just as normal as going out for Mexican or Italian. Take on these recipes with quality ingredients, offer a family friendly place to dine, with a warm and dutiful waitstaff, and you’ve left an impressive mark. Red Fort checks all the boxes.
“We’ve kept our menu smaller than other Indian restaurants,” Jaspreet said. “What we have are dishes we’ve perfected and know diners love. We stand by each dish 100%.”
It’s undeniable the model at Red Fort is a winner. The food was excellent. The tikka masala was the perfect balance of heat and spice. The chicken makhana had a lovely nutty flavor, buttery but not at all heavy. The coconut kurma wielded a potent punch of garlic and coconut. The yellow curry was traditional perfection. The mattar paneer, tricky in that in the wrong hands the mashed peas-and-cheese cubes often veers into bitterness, was savory and perfectly cooked—arguably the best in the region. This was home cooking, which used recipes passed down for generations, and was made from the heart.
If you want some sweet with your spice, the mango ice cream was a bright and creamy delight. Their kulfi—ice cream made with pistachios, cashews, and cardamom—had just the right burst of sweetness to cut the woodiness of the nuts. Their lassi, a traditional yogurt drink that comes in mango, strawberry, or rose flavors, was light and refreshing, as was the Fort Lime, a lime and spice drink that has the taste profile of a mojito, though without the alcohol.
“We get messages from diners all the time that their kids gobbled everything up,” Jaspreet said. “That’s our hope. That diners can come and order any number of dishes to share, and there’s something delicious for everyone.”
The Red Fort crew are new to town, but just as they welcome us, we certainly should welcome them. In a world of restaurants that succeed only through deep pockets despite the mediocrity of their dining experience, it’s easy to root for a family-owned restaurant that cares deeply about both the food and the people they feed.
