Former SGAG writer and wife take pay cut to start tandoori burger stall

Around this time two years ago, most Singaporeans were staying home due to the COVID-19 "circuit breaker". Husband-and-wife Siraj Aziz and Nasyirah Parveen were hunkering down in their flat too, where they passed time by watching food shows and cooking.

Siraj, 34, had a full-time job conceptualising comedy sketches for digital content website SGAG, while Syirah was a special needs teacher in a primary school. “We were home a lot more than usual, so we decided to try out something for fun,” shared Syirah.

She had on hand a tandoori chicken recipe from her father, a former school canteen hawker who used to run a stall at Telok Kurau Primary School in 2006. While he sold dishes like prata, it was his tandoori chicken that was the star.

Syirah recalled: “My dad always made it for our family whenever there was a special occasion, and we all liked it. One of the primary school teachers told me she remembered his tandoori chicken. And we thought, why not do a burger?”

TANDOORI BURGER

In the mood for experimentation, Syirah and Siraj decided to start a home-based business selling their mod tandoori burgers and marinated chicken wings. They named it Mahmud’s Tandoor, after Syirah’s father. The response they got soon became strong enough that they expanded their operations by taking up a booth at pop-up market Artbox. “We had queues till 10pm,” Syirah recounted. 

Instead of a bulky traditional tandoor (a rotund clay oven typically used in South Asia), the Indian-Pakistani couple made do with space constraint by using a convection oven and deep fryer to cook their tandoori chicken, which also yields juicier meat.

Siraj explained: “I find that using a tandoor makes the meat dry. A lot of people think tandoori food is dry chicken hanging in the window. Our concept is about modernising, switching things up and making it fusion, so we had to convince people that our food isn’t dry.”

OPENING THEIR OWN SHOP

After Artbox, Siraj and Syirah decided that it was time to open their own permanent tandoori burger shop and get business cards with their new job designations: Tandude and Tandudette.

“I was very inspired by small American fast food chains like In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A, where they have a limited menu and number of outlets with quality food and good service,” Siraj said. 

The couple found a stall unit at the Curbside Crafters market near Arab Street, and have been operating there for around four months. Their lease officially ends this September, but Syirah says they are in talks with the landlord to extend it to another one or two years. “People say it’s crazy to go into F&B, ’cause it’s not easy,” she laughed.

She and Siraj also became first-time parents last August, when Syirah gave birth to their daughter. To focus on parenthood and F&B full-time, she left her teaching job. “My pregnancy was quite intense, so I couldn’t do both (F&B and teaching). For me it was crazy because I was leaving a well-paying government job,” she mused, though Siraj interjected: “You were exhausted too.”

Siraj, who was the assistant head of the writing department at SGAG, later left to tend to his food business too. “I was at SGAG for four years. I have always loved writing and doing comedy was my dream. But the social media landscape changed a lot in those four years, and by the end I asked myself, was I still feeling the same excitement that I felt when I first came in? And the answer was no, so I decided it was time [to go],” he revealed.

To satiate his “hunger for comedy”, Siraj still does open-mic stand-up comedy acts. And his social media videos, made to promote Mahmud’s Tandoor, are pretty darn funny. Like this skit that relates to our collective anxiety about online payments going through:

TOOK “OVER 50 PER CENT PAY CUTS” TO GO INTO F&B

Though Siraj and Syirah now draw salaries from their business, the amount is “not always stable” every month. “It’s a huge pay cut for us, more than 50 per cent of what we used to earn,” Syirah pointed out. “But we just have to try and see where this goes.”

The couple has since “cut down on lifestyle choices like holidays, meals and taking cabs” in order to pump money into sustaining their shop. According to Siraj, it was now or never for him and his wife to start their own stall.

He shared: “We manage. It helps that we are on the same page, and we’re not disappointing each other with the choices we make. We want to try to do something of our own while our family is still small and we can tighten our belts if we have to. If we had stayed in our jobs, we wouldn’t be as motivated to make this work.”

Syirah added: “Now I can also spend more time with my child and that's better than having the money to buy things.”

SUPER GRITTY LOOK

Mahmud’s Tandoor has around 25 seats, with a couple of makeshift tables set up in a back alley against a large yellow sign that says 'Tandooright Here'. We love it, except when it rains.

THE MENU

Siraj and Syirah offer a focused menu with two types of burgers and a combination of meal sets. There is the OG Tandoori Burger (S$12), which has a slab of baked tandoori chicken thigh sandwiched between brioche buns with sliced onions and mint yoghurt, or the Crispydoori Burger (S$12) variation with a fried chicken thigh patty, harissa mayonnaise and sliced cheddar. Customers can also upsize their burgers at S$3 for an extra piece of chicken.

These are meant to go with sides like the tandoori-spiced Wing Drum Hota Hai (S$8.50) for six mid-joint wing and drumlet pieces, thick-cut Masala Fries (from S$4) and a Loaded Chicken Masala Fries (from S$6) drizzled with harissa mayo, mint yoghurt and diced tandoori chicken.

The masala fries are also offered as a set with your choice of a burger (S$15; S$17 for loaded fries), and Paati Party Platters with supersized portions are also on the menu (from S$20).

The American-Asian fusion fast food experience is rounded off with slushie beverages in flavours like Chai Peng Slush (S$5) and Bandung Slush (S$5). The slushies can be upsized too; just top up $2.

“We are going to have more pairings like wings and fries, and sampler boxes with slides, fries and wings. I’m experimenting with making a mango chilli sauce too,” said Syirah.

THE OG TANDOORI BURGER, S$12

A thick, meaty slab of chicken thigh is marinated in a tandoori spice blend (which includes cayenne pepper, cumin and onion powder), and baked in an oven. The extra aromatic, succulent chook packs just a hint of heat, and is garnished with onions and mint yoghurt. It all makes for a nicely juicy burger that calls for extra napkins (always a good sign when it comes to burgers).

CRISPYDOORI BURGER, S$12

That said, we derive even more pleasure from wolfing down the Crispydoori Burger, which has the same tandoori spice-marinated chicken thigh deep-fried till super crispy. And even messier, with piquant harissa mayo and melted cheddar tucked between pillowy toasted brioche buns. We ordered a set and had our burger served with a side of masala fries and more harissa mayo. Bring wet wipes. Bring lots of it.

WING DRUM HOTA HAI, S$8.50

There are tandoori chicken wings and drumlets offered as a side. Each box comes with six pieces of mid-joint wings and drumlets, coated in tandoori seasoning and either fried or baked according to your choice. While the flavourful baked wings are paired with a default tangy mint yoghurt dip, we just prefer the madly crunchy fried chicken with harissa mayo (you can top up for more mayo or yoghurt dip at S$2 a portion).

LOADED MASALA FRIES, FROM S$6

Fries from fast food joints are usually seasoned simply with salt. This Loaded Masala Fries is the food equivalent of someone wearing everything in their wardrobe. The thick fries are first tossed with toasty masala spices, drizzled with minty yoghurt and topped with tandoori chicken chunks.

It’s an explosion of calories and flavours but we guess you just have to somehow find space in your tummy for this on top of the tandoori burger.

CHAI AND BANDUNG SLUSHIES, S$5 EACH

Mahmud’s Tandoor offers mineral water and soft drinks to go with their food, plus house-made slushies in two flavours. We find the Bandung Slush too sweet for our liking but the Chai Peng Slush is reasonably refreshing, though the tea flavour is muted due to all the ice.

Mahmud’s Tandoor is at Curbside Crafters, 730 North Bridge Road, Singapore 198698. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 12pm to 8.30pm.

This story was originally published in 8Days.