My parents migrated from U.P. (Uttar Pradesh - a province in Northern India) to Pakistan in 1947 after the partition of the British India. Growing as a teenager in Karachi, Pakistan I used to see my mother preparing breakfast and two meals a day for the family. For some reason I developed an interest in cooking and baking. I would help my mother in the preparation of food, tasting and serving. After sometime my mother started delegating the family cooking to me but kept a strict watch on the quality. This helped me gain confidence and with each passing day, I became more and more comfortable not only with cooking, but mixing spices also.
    This led to experimenting with the spices and the recipes. I would change the standard recipe and make it into my own; increasing one spice, reducing another, adding a spice or removing a spice from the recipe. To be honest, my family were the guinnea pigs - sometimes the taste, aroma and appearance improved so much that my family complimented me, other times, not so much. After a while I was the sole person in charge of the family kitchen and I was so proud of my achievement. My interest in cooking changed into my passion for cooking.
    Later I moved to United States with my family. I got married and started a family but my passion for cooking kept growing to the extent that I would cook not only for my family but also for extended relatives and family friends. Finding true authentic Pakistani Food here in San Antonio was a real treat for everyone. My family and friends encouraged me to share my cooking with everyone and so I started dreaming of having my Pakistani restaurant one day. My dream was to have a restaurant focusing on serving guests authentic, wholesome and delicious Pakistani food in a casual yet somewhat exotic ambience.
    My dream remained a dream as my children were young at that time and I knew the time commitment and involvement required in having a restaurant. Now that my children are old enough to take care of themselves (hopefully) I ventured into this adventure.
    This dream became a reality on May 31, 2010 when I opened the doors and welcomed my first guests to Tandoor.
    Tandoor is the realization of my dream into reality.
Atiya Khan
Chef & CEO