STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Saffron has long been valued as one of the world’s most expensive spices because of its unique flavoring and aromatic qualities.

Given that, Ratnadeep Chakraborty and Rosmery Serva seem to have picked the perfect name for their new restaurant in Ketchum.

Saffron, located in the Walnut Avenue Mall behind TopNotch Fine Furnishings, offers fine diners a gastronomical adventure--a taste explosion with Indian-inspired foods.

The restaurant is not your typical Indian restaurant.

Chef Abhijit Sarkar and Chakraborty have created a menu of contemporary dishes drawing on influences and ingredients from all of India’s various regions.

The vegetarian Tandoori Mushrooms offers knock-your-socks-off flavor with Shitake, portobello, crimini and trumpet mushrooms marinated with Indian spices and served atop of a cheesy polenta flavored with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil.

Meat dishes include Methi chicken simmered on a cashew gravy with fengrek leaves, mango-coconut shrimp curry, lamb curry and pork vindaloo cooked in a bright flavorful sauce.

Among the desserts is a refreshing pudding-like Pistachio Matka Kulfi brimming with pistachios that provide a lovely texture.

“We love to use a lot of spices for flavor profile, but we’re not super spicy as in spices that create heat,” said Chakraborty.

Shawna Ward, who recently took lunch at Saffron with her daughter Britlynn, agreed.

“I love Indian food, and this valley was in desperate need of Indian food as that’s the one thing it didn’t have,” said Shawna Ward. “I love the warmth and spice, the balanced nature of Saffron’s food. It’s the best I’ve had. I feel it is cooked from the heart, that it’s food with love.”

Saffron had its genesis with Chakraborty, who grew up in Calcutta, and his wife Rosmery Serva, who grew up in Peru.

“Mom and Dad always wanted me to be like a doctor but I always loved cooking from the time I was 12 or 13,” said Chakraborty, who goes by the nickname Sanu.

Chakraborty came to Sun Valley in 2016 on a work program in hotel and hospitality management but got a rude awakening on arrival.

“I always have loved spicy flavorful food, and I told the driver who took me from the airport, ‘I’m hungry. I need food.’ My first meal here was a frozen bean and cheese burrito at a convenience store. And I was like, ‘What is that?! It has no flavor!’ ” Chakraborty recounted.

Chakraborty had the opportunity to introduce Sun Valley to the flavors of India with a dish he created at Gretchen’s Restaurant.

He eventually headed to San Francisco, where he further honed his skills at an upscale Indian restaurant and saved enough money to start his own restaurant.

His wife, Rosmery Serva, grew up in Huancaya, a mountainous area of Peru where her grandfather raised potatoes, cows and goats.

Her father, Rodolfo Serva, came to Idaho to make more money to provide a better life for his family back in Peru. He started KB’s Burritos while Rosmery's mother stayed home with the kids, running a small vegetable stand and restaurant where she sold soups and stews made with beef, lamb and chicken.

When she turned 21, Rosmery same to Sun Valley for a visit and worked as a dishwasher, server and cashier at KB’s by day while taking classes at night to improve her English. She went on to study business at College of Southern Idaho, graduating last semester.

“I like it here. I like the hiking. We have a mini-Australian shepherd named Radhi, and I plan to start practicing snowboard this winter. I didn’t go hiking in Peru—the trails were dangerous. You did not feel safe,” she said.

Serva was attending a weekly Peruvian dance at Whiskey Jacques when Chakraborty asked her to dance. The two got married in 2019—the same week Chakraborty bought a restaurant in downtown Twin Falls that Serva’s uncle had owned to open his first Saffron.

“He loves my culture and I love his culture,” said Serva. “Every time I have the chance to wear saris I do. And I love Indian food, although I’m having to teach myself to learn to like spices like cardamon, saffron and fennel. We don’t do so too many spices in Peruvian cooking—we make things using tomatoes and yellow peppers. But my mother makes a big pot of soup for Sanu on his birthday and he loves it.”

The couple sold their restaurant in Twin Falls to open the one in Ketchum.

Chakraborty said the focus is not on “super traditional” Indian food but an upscale version of Indian food. Their plan is to change the menu every six months to take advantage of fresh seasonal ingredients. Upcoming dishes could include fish cutlet, pork belly, rack of lamb with jalapeno glaze and mixed seafood curry.

“We offer a lot of dishes you don’t always find in other American Indian restaurants. We focus on flavor profiles from the different regions of India. And we come up with our own dishes, as well. In India, for stance, they don’t eat so much pork, but people here like pork ribs so here I make my own pomegranate barbecue sauce for pork,” said Chakraborty.

Rosmery Serva loves the possibilities.

“This restaurant is a dream,” she said. “And our focus here is to make people happy.”