EVOLUTION OF AN ENTREPRENEUR CHEF

Chef Ashraf Khan Goes From Catering Pakistani Cuisine At The State Capitol To Opening Peri Peri Republic

When entrepreneur-chef Ashraf Khan took on a catering order for lawmakers and guests at the Texas State Capitol building in March of this year, he was already committed to catering for about 500 people for other clients. He knew it was going to be tough to take this on too, but he did not want to miss the opportunity. He also did not know that by doing so he was making history — it would be the first iftar dinner to take place in the Texas State Capitol.

Newly elected State Representative Suleman Lalani, who is also Muslim, was hosting the iftar meal for his fellow lawmakers. An iftar is a dinner served at sunset when Muslims break their fast in the lunar month of Ramadan.

For Khan to be the caterer for this event was no surprise. He had been well known in Pakistani American circles in Central Texas since 2014 for his professional yet personal approach to these large-scale dinners and banquets. He also uses locally sourced Zabiha-Halal* meat, similar to Kosher, in his cooking, which makes his business desirable for South Asian clients who have guests with dietary restrictions.

The iftar meal for the lawmakers was a simple one: vegetable samosas and fried chickpea pakoras for appetizers, beef and potato biryani and chicken seekh kabab for the main course and gulab jamun — golden-brown dough dipped in a sugar syrup — for dessert.

The dinner at the Capitol was a success and since then, Lalani's office has contacted Khan for more orders. Some of the attendees have also contacted Khan wanting to know when the restaurant at Lakeline Mall is opening.

Catering Pakistani cuisine for large groups is only one part of Khan’s business, however.

Alongside two other partners, he’ll soon open Peri Peri Republic, a South African-Portuguese casual fast food restaurant inside Lakeline Mall.

Khan said he wanted to make Peri Peri Republic into a place where customers with Zabiha Halal restrictions were being offered the same menus as those without restrictions. It will be a casual, affordable dining space for the whole family, and offer healthy dishes like Portuguese-style grilled chicken and a host of his own Peri Peri sauces, from garlic to American barbecue to mango and lime.

took the opportunity and has never looked back. He set up his Pakistani restaurant, Desi Cuisine, and ran it for a year.

By the time he sold Desi Cuisine, word was out that Khan’s food was as good as it was authentic, mastering popular Pakistani comfort foods like meat korma and nihari.

Before Desi Cuisine sold, one of Khan's clients from the restaurant had requested Khan cater a dinner in South Austin for about 200 people. Although Khan informed the client about the business selling in advance, the client still wanted Khan to cater it. That opened the doors to more orders in Austin, also Khan's home city. From 2014 to 2017 Khan’s catering business flourished. When clients wanted Texas brisket alongside biryani, he was able to make arrangements for that and continued to add diverse clientele to his list, from Arab and Indian to Bangladeshi and Mexican.

In 2018, Khan opened BBQ Inn on North Lamar Boulevard in Austin, which he ran until COVID-19 hit, and he switched back to catering.

*HALAL MEAT

For Peri Peri Republic, Khan is excited to see all of his various clients and their tastes come together. It will be a place where people who eat kosher, or Zabiha-Halal, or vegetarian, or those who don’t, can all try the same items on the menu.

This time around, Khan plans to keep his catering business going and also run Peri Peri Republic. He also has plans for opening Peri Peri Republic in San Antonio this August — and depending on how it goes, perhaps make it a franchise in Houston and Dallas.

No matter what, Khan is committed to taking care of his catering clients. “I will continue to meet their orders with or without a restaurant,” he says.

Peri Peri Chicken

Recipe from Peri Peri Republic

One chicken cut into 4 pieces

2½ T. medium Peri Peri sauce

2½ T. hot Peri Peri sauce

1 T. crushed garlic

2 T. lemon juice

1t smoked paprika powder

Khan hails from Karachi, Pakistan. While cooking has always been a passion of his, he did not come into it initially, graduating from Texas State with a business degree and investing in Dollar Stores in Austin, San Marcos, New Braunfels and Seguin. At the time, his dad owned wedding banquet halls in Karachi and he was starting to learn from him what catering entailed.

In 2013, while browsing Craigslist, Khan came across a restaurant-for-sale listing that was too good to be true — a woman who wanted to retire wanted to sell her San Antonio restaurant and only wanted a transfer of the lease. Khan

For meat to be called Halal, it has to be from animals slaughtered in a specific way with the blood of the animal drained out—kind of like Kosher meats. Many Muslims only eat Halal meat. So, when it comes to larger catering events even those who eat regular meats on a daily basis turn to Khan to be mindful of those who adhere to the stricter norms.

There is no difference in taste between meat with or without the Halal certification, but the style of slaughtering the animal is slightly different with the Halal process making sure the blood drains out. Zabiha, a second label in addition to the Halal adds a process of reading out a dedication of the meat by a live person and not a recording, as the animal is being slaughtered.

Left Page: Chef Ashraf Khan

Right Page, Top Left: Pani Puri

Right Page, Top Right: Tawa Chicken

Right Page, Lower Right: Colorful dessert table

Right Page, Middle: Fresh fruit arrangements

Right Page, Bottom: Fruit and custard trifle

Aside from writing about what is happening in Austin and in the food industry, reporter and editor Sumaiya Malik enjoys entertaining friends and finding new places to eat. Follow her on Instagram @SumaiyaSaidThis.

1t crushed black pepper

½ T. olive oil

½ t. salt

PREPARATION

Marinate chicken with medium Peri Peri sauce, hot Peri Peri sauce, crushed garlic, lemon juice, paprika powder, black pepper and salt for 4 hours. Bake marinated chicken in a large pan in the oven for 30 minutes and grill for 10 minutes when chicken is fully done. Serve with coleslaw, French fries, corn and Peri Peri sauces.