By Alok Ganguly
Public Relations Manager
& Ethan Walshe
Editor-in-Chief

A spread of options lays before hungry guests. Trays of freshly grilled chicken and lamb, as well as cheese and chickpeas mixed with potatoes, accompanied by crisp, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. The roti (an Indian-style tortilla) is a blank canvas, for the customers’ own creations.

“Design[ing] your own culinary masterpiece” is one of the hopes of Rangoli Grill, a new Indian restaurant in Cornerstone Plaza. Operated by Gulshan Kumar, and his wife, Westford Academy English teacher Rashmi Kumar, this is the first Indian restaurant in Westford.

“We wanted to be healthy. We wanted to be flavorful. We wanted to be fast, and we wanted to give you a set of choices in a limited manner so you can still pick and choose but not be overwhelmed by the choices. That was the fundamental goal of starting the restaurant,” said Mr. Kumar.

When compared to Indian Restaurants in surrounding towns, Rangoli Grill is unique. Set up like a Chipotle, customers can design their own meals from a variety of options, and it will be prepared in front of them.

Why name it Rangoli Grill? The name was inspired by the use of rangoli in India. A rangoli is an intricate piece of artwork, usually seen on people’s doorsteps during auspicious times or festivals.

To Mrs. Kumar, creating your own meal is like making your own rangoli on a plate.

“When we were planning our menu, we tried to make the colors stand out, so that what you are putting together on your plate is a rangoli of colors, almost. You’re putting a bunch of colorful food items on your plate that you have designed in your own way,” said Mrs. Kumar.

A unique aspect of the restaurant is the self-serve chaat bar that will be offered. Chaat is a street food found in India, usually composed of chick peas and potatoes with a crunchy wheat-flour bread topping, and a variety of sauces. They have gone a step further and provided additional items to add to the choices.  Set up similarly to a salad bar, this is the first of its kind in the area.

The Kumars also want to dispel any myths about Indian food being greasy, unhealthy and spicy. In fact, there is not even a fryer in the Rangoli Grill. Instead, most of the food is grilled in a tandoor, a clay oven traditionally used for cooking on the streets of India. According to Kumar, this allows the food to be more flavorful and healthy at the same time.

Mr. Kumar didn’t decide to open a restaurant overnight. Previously, he was employed in the field of Information Technology at various companies and had run his own IT services business. His motivation to get involved with the food industry came from his observation of limited Indian cuisine choices in the Westford area.

Though there are sit-down restaurants in the surrounding area, they can be confusing to the Indian food novice. Rangoli Grill was developed with the idea of not overwhelming the customer in mind.

“The nice thing about this model is it lets [customers] come in here and actually see the food …  you actually see what you are getting, not something that is only off of a menu. After a while, you’ll get familiar with it … but you’re walking in here, you’re seeing the wraps, the rice, and the fillings … it’s a visual experience as well,” said Mr. Kumar.

While Mr. Kumar has previous experience with managing a business, he is new to running an establishment such as this. Opening this restaurant was a much more lengthy process than he actually thought it would be. There were the typical processes for opening any restaurant, like Board of Health Inspections, ServSafe Certifications, and setting up the supply chain, but there were also unique steps, like acquiring the tandoor manufactured by a company in England.

Though there is an established Indian community in Westford, the Kumars are not targeting only them for business. They hope that by having an approachable menu, all varieties of people will feel compelled to try out this exotic food.

“[T]he cross section of people who have poked their heads in looking to inquire about the opening date and looking to inquire about the type of food, I would say its been a 50-50 mix [of Indians and Non-Indians],” said Mr. Kumar.

In terms of long-term goals, Mr. Kumar describes their current situation as “baby steps.” Their current focus has been on opening the restaurant and being accepted within the local community.

Over the past week, they have been having friends and co-workers sample their food and provide feedback. Through experimentation at home, including purchasing their own tandoor, which resides on their deck, the Kumars have adapted their own recipes to develop the menu. Through this sampling process, they aim to improve the experience in Rangoli Grill.

“I want to make sure I am ready before we declare that it is ready to open … there’s a lot of excitement right now, there’s a lot of people asking us when we’ll open,” said Mr. Kumar.

Rangoli Grill opens Friday, October 18th, and is open from 12-8 on Sundays, and 11-9 on Monday through Saturday.