SETTING up an Asian restaurant in Bradford where there are already a huge number of established names was a gamble but the owner of Kashmiri Aroma knew he was bringing something different to the table.
By Anila Baig
Bradford Means Business went to find out more.
ESTABLISHED in 2008 by Tariq Mahmood, his wife, Safena Sabir and Waheed Akhtar, Kashmiri Aroma had a vision to provide a unique dining experience accompanied with the finest Kashmiri cuisine.
With further support the brand expanded to include eateries in Sheffield, Wakefield and Halifax.
Now the fifth restaurant in the Kashmiri Aroma chain has opened and occupies a landmark location in Bradford.
It is on the site of the former Turf pub, a beautiful hundred- year-old building steeped in history and perched at the foot of Emm Lane opposite the grand gate of Lister Park.
The new Bradford branch is particularly poignant for Mr Mahmood as it is the first large project he has gone on to complete without his wife by his side.
Safena, who passed away in 2018 after a brave battle with cancer, was determined to open a branch in their home city of Bradford.
“My dear wife was the main driving force behind the success of the restaurants and it was her dream that we open in Bradford so when this site became available I knew it was perfect.
“The restaurant was opened in her honour and we have a memorial plaque in her name.
“She had a fundamental role in establishing the business, she was also the one responsible for designing the interiors – we wanted to replicate her tastes in this site too.”
He said his children, Hannah, 22 and Haroon, 21, helped designing the décor, in memory of their mother.
“This project was a team effort, involving my children and brothers and, after a lot of hard work, I believe we have managed to create a chic, modern restaurant with a relaxed family environment.”
Mr Mahmood said he knew there was a saturated Asian restaurant market in Bradford, which is why he wanted to introduce something different.
“Here we serve lunch and evening meals but also afternoon tea, desi chai, which includes authentic street food dishes such as Samosa Chaat, Gol Gappey and Dahi bhallas and on weekends there is our famous desi breakfast which means you can eat all four meals here.”
Mr Mahmood has a logical methodical approach to business; this is partly driven by his academic background as he has a Masters in Physics with Astrophysics, which he obtained from the University of Leeds.
He came to the UK from Pakistan at the age of 20 and went straight into the family business.
He said: “I worked for 50 hours a week and then would go to university. I was always interested in Physics, I’ve always enjoyed the complexity of the subject and still read up on the topic.”
Again he paid tribute to his wife for helping to support him through work and studies.
“I wouldn’t have been able to achieve my success without her support. Obviously it was hard to juggle working so many hours coupled with full-time education but I was able to manage thanks to her.”
The restaurant, which opened last November, has been doing a roaring trade and is very popular with Asian families who obviously know good authentic Kashmiri food.
“The secret is the spices, which are all blended by hand,” Mr Mahmood said.
“We do not use any pre-mixed spices, everything is 100per cent authentic and that’s the secret of our curries. We serve traditional authentic Kashmiri food such as karahi dishes which are made in metal pots but we also have our popular Afghani & Namkeen dishes which were a particular favourite of my wife.”
Going out for breakfast has become an obsessively popular weekend pastime in Bradford among Asian families who yearn for Chana Masala (chickpea curry) and halwa (semolina dish) mopped up with soft melt-in-the-mouth puris.
“This is the type of food you would find on the roadside in Pakistan, authentic and absolutely delicious. We get a lot of Asian families coming here who crave that authentic taste.”
Those with a sweet tooth will also relish the abundance of desserts on offer which include gateaux, ice cream, Asian sweets and various flavours of mouth-watering cheesecake.
“Bradford really is the place to come when you want authentic Pakistani food and we are proud that we have opened a restaurant here. We want to give people as much choice as possible and if we can become the best of the best in the process that will be an added bonus.”
Tariq Mahmood
