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Getting laid off tends to be a traumatic expertise for almost all of individuals. However, for Chef Zubair Mohajir, a a number of James Beard Award nominee, “Chopped” winner and “Top Chef” contender, it grew to become the day his life started.
“I was so freaking happy,” stated Mohajir, 41, of his banking stint that led to 2008. “But then I had to figure out what I do for work.”
Today, Mohajir is the chef and proprietor of the Michelin Guide-recognized Coach House, Lilac Tiger, Mirra and Sarima Cafe. He is opening three new ideas this yr so as to add to his rising empire.
Mariela within the Loop (“a coastal restaurant based in nostalgia”) is slated to open on May 6; Muhājir in Lincoln Park (“the translation of it in Urdu, in Arabic, means ‘migrant,’” is an extension of the Coach House) will comply with in the summertime; and Bobo, (“a really vibrant bar where people feel like they’re stepping through a wildly disorienting, ‘Doctor Strange’-like portal, into the Manila night”) can be tucked away behind Muhājir.
After being laid off, Mohajir regarded to his upbringing for inspiration on what to do subsequent. Born in Chennai, India, Mohajir was raised in Doha, Qatar, earlier than immigrating to Chicago’s suburbs in 1997. To make ends meet, his mom, Nasrin, took a job at Burger King, which she hated, he stated.
“She went on to be a quality control check at a micro parts factory at Illinois Tool Works, which used to make micro parts for Motorola,” stated Mohajir. She additionally arrange an advert hoc catering enterprise of their southwest suburban Frankfort storage serving time-strapped households of their group.
Food performed a central position within the Mohajir family.
“I grew up being my mom’s prep cook on Saturday mornings, frying frickin’ samosas, making biryani, helping her cut onions for biryani. She planted that seed. I think she regretted it for a bit at the beginning of this journey. Now she’s all good, because we’re doing good,” Mohajir stated.
He determined to turn out to be a prepare dinner and utilized for a stage (basically a short-term, usually unpaid, internship at a restaurant) on the world-renowned Alinea in 2013.
“At the time the requirements for getting a stage at Alinea was having two legs, two arms and being able to do some physical labor. They gave me this stage for four days with no restaurant industry experience. It was a spark for me. I was like, ‘holy crap.’ I didn’t realize food could be at this level. I got addicted.”
He went to Bangkok in summer season 2018 and labored on the critically acclaimed Gaggan, simply as Wazwan, his pop-up supper membership was taking off. Wazwan ultimately discovered a everlasting dwelling at 1742 W. Division St. in Wicker Park, earlier than evolving into Lilac Tiger. Coach House, a advantageous eating expertise by Mohajir, opened within the rear carriage home.
The self-described “history buff” has made a reputation for himself by mixing totally different elements and methods that not solely replicate his private expertise, but in addition a wealthy worldview.
“History is a big part of what I do, not only from a food standpoint, but I love to use it as a tool to really educate people,” stated Mohajir. “We’re surrounded by a lot of ignorance these days. People don’t know where things come from, unfortunately, and food is the best way to dismantle barriers and really be able to connect with someone on a human level.”
Take Mirra, as an illustration. In the age of brief consideration spans and other people chasing social media virality, the restaurant idea of mixing Indian and Mexican cultures on a plate could possibly be perceived as a fantastical gimmick. On the menu, curry reveals up alongside tacos, lamb barbacoa is married with biryani and sealed beneath a blanket of roti and Indian buttermilk yogurt is utilized in an aguachile tub that will historically be manufactured from citrus.
Mohajir and his accomplice Chef Rishi Kumar invite diners to dig deeper with their Indian-Mexican idea.
“I was impressed,” stated Mohammad Salehi, proprietor of Heray Spice who not too long ago dined at Mirra along with his spouse. “We’re very picky eaters. Biryani requires real knowledge. It was excellent. You can feel the culture.”
The quest for depth begins with the restaurant’s title. It is impressed by the real-life story of Catarina de San Juan, a South Asian lady kidnapped by Portuguese pirates, enslaved and ultimately dropped at Puebla, Mexico. Her delivery title? Mirra.
“That blew my mind,” stated Mohajir of the story he first heard in 2021. “I reached out to Rishi about it. We had done a collaboration the year prior, mixing Indian and Mexican traditions at Bar Sótano when he was there. It was something that stuck with us.”
Kumar grew up in Singapore and celebrated life moments at Margarita’s, the island’s oldest Mexican restaurant. That early publicity to Mexican delicacies would reappear all through his profession.
Before Mirra opened in its present area, it had been “turned over so many times, we were horrified by the fact that, ‘what if we’re just another statistic?’” stated David Mor, beverage director and accomplice at Lilac Tiger, Coach House, Mirra, Mariela and Muhajir. “The landlord and neighbors told us that they’ve seen so many businesses go in there with very little success. Mirra was the biggest success story we could have ever imagined.”
“When I first met Zubair, he would come to me with ideas, and that’s when we came up with the chaas aguachile,” Kumar stated of the dish, which blends Indian flavors like curry and buttermilk yogurt with Mexican elements reminiscent of serrano and nopales. It has since turn out to be one among Mirra’s signature gadgets. Back then, Kumar was working for Chef Rick Bayless at Bar Sótano.
The cooks, neither of whom is Mexican, have been much less centered on producing replicas of conventional dishes and as a substitute highlighting and celebrating the diaspora of flavors via migration.
“Growing up in Singapore, I knew a lot of South Indian cooking, which is Zubair’s main thing,” Kumar provides. “We clicked immediately, especially on flavor profiles. That led to a collab at Bar Sótano. We put the ticket sales up, and within a minute and a half, the whole 80 seats sold out. We had a 500-people wait list. Even Rick [Bayless] looked at me like ‘What did you guys just do? You unleash the beast?’ We were super excited.”
Mirra first debuted on the Coach House for an eight-month eating expertise in August 2024. Sarima, his espresso store that marries Indian and Filipino flavors (Chef Jacob Dela Cruz is a co-owner there), additionally started there earlier than making the leap to a brick-and-mortar location in Wicker Park.
“That room is super, super special to me, because it put me on the map,” stated Mohajir. “That’s where the first James Beard nominations came from: a room with no kitchen. I laughed so hard with pride when Michelin recognized us. It’s just such an intimate room. It’s beautiful, but there’s no kitchen.”
Today, Coach House has turn out to be a residency for up-and-coming cooks keen to check their ideas. Chef Junho Lee of Haru Haru, who attended culinary faculty alongside Mohajir, is serving diners his tackle fashionable Korean meals now via September.
Next month, Kumar and Mohajir are opening their newest enterprise collectively, Mariela, “a coastal restaurant that takes guests on a global coastal journey, shaped by migration, memory, and the movement of flavors across shorelines,” based on a information launch. Some of the dishes, which proceed the marrying flavors method Mohajir and his companions have taken at their companies, embrace seafood arroz negro with octopus, scallops, squid ink sofrito and uni scorching sauce; tom yum aguachile with poached prawns, Thai herbs and smoked trout roe; and seafood kebab taco with grilled octopus, almond vanilla matcha and fenugreek roti.
“Mariela is an exploration of South Asian food through the lens of coasts around the globe. It’s a shining light on how food demonstrates our similarities, rather than our differences,” stated Kumar, chef and accomplice of Mariela. “We represent chefs and lovers of hospitality collaborating on a unified vision that provides a balanced and intentional experience; whilst many restaurants and bars offer this, our curation brings a sense of independent thought, strong point of view, and deep love for delicious food and drinks.”
Despite all of the success and up to date progress, David Mor — beverage director and accomplice at Lilac Tiger, Coach House, Mirra, Mariela and Muhājir — desires folks to comprehend it hasn’t all the time been simple.
“We went through years of working together where we were constantly talking about ‘How do we pay rent this month,’ or ‘Can we ask for some of our co-workers to accept their paychecks a little bit later than what their payday is.’ It’s the worst feeling as a business owner to do. You’re taught that if you can’t do all these things perfectly, you shouldn’t go into business.”
Mor factors to the primary yr in enterprise being probably the most tough and the group has since discovered a tempo that permits them to take massive bets on not solely the ideas, however their actual property places, reminiscent of Mirra in Bucktown.
“The space Mirra’s in has turned over so many times, we were horrified by the fact that, ‘what if we’re just another statistic?’” stated Mor. “We have some element of delusion or audacity built into what we do that kind of allows us to say, ‘It can’t be worse than what we’re doing right now, which is not owning our own [restaurants].’ The landlord and neighbors told us that they’ve seen so many businesses go in there with very little success. Mirra was the biggest success story we could have ever imagined. We’ve taken that momentum and that energy and said there’s nothing telling me that can’t happen again in a new location.”
The seven hospitality ideas Mohajir owns with a number of totally different companions don’t function beneath a dad or mum firm. That would possibly change sooner or later however for now, Mohajir says he’s simply having enjoyable going into enterprise with mates.
“I really love opening restaurants,” stated Mohajir. “Most people think too long about what moves they want to make. I dream about it, but I really pride myself and my team’s ability to just go out and do it. The best calls I like to make are to friends saying, ‘Hey, quit your job, move back. Let’s open a restaurant.’ You attack the world differently when you’re walking in step with somebody.”
Lamb Biryani
By Chef Zubair Mohajir
Man, a succulent lamb biryani simply hits the spot after a day of fasting. All is nicely after a couple of bites of this dish.
Ingredients
For the marinade
2 kilos lamb leg, cubed into 1-inch chunks
2 to three teaspoons biryani masala
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon kashmiri crimson chili powder
½ teaspoon floor turmeric
¼ cup recent mint leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¾ cup plain yogurt
For the crispy fried onions
4 tablespoons ghee
1 giant yellow onion, thinly sliced
For the rice
2½ cups further lengthy grain basmati rice
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds (shah jeera)
2 bay leaves (tamal patra)
1 star anise
4 inexperienced cardamom pods
8 cloves
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
For the garnish
½ teaspoon saffron
2 tablespoons heat milk
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Directions
Add all the marinade elements to a plastic zip-top bag and blend nicely. Marinate in a single day within the fridge.
When you’re able to prepare dinner the dish, in a saute pan over excessive warmth, fry the thinly sliced onions till golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Combine all the rice elements in 3 quarts of water in a big pot and let soak for one hour.
Mix the saffron and milk collectively and put aside.
In a deep pot, sear all of the meat and prepare dinner 75 p.c till simply tender. Reduce till all of the liquid is cooked out.
Strain the soaked rice after which add to the pot. Mix nicely and add simply sufficient water to cowl the meat and rice.
Add the sauteed onions. Mix within the milk and saffron combination and canopy.
Cook for 45 minutes and let it relaxation for 30 with the warmth off. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/restaurants/2026/04/15/chef-zubair-mohajir-chicago-restaurants-mariela-mirra-coach-house-lilac-tiger
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