Husband and wife team Robin and Tabraze Sheikh are looking forward to opening their new market stall, Na'an Ya Business.
A new food stall is coming to the City Market next month.
Na’an Ya Business will be serving up traditional stuffed na’an bread, a Pakistani dish cooked in a special clay oven called a ‘tandoor.’
Owners Tabraze and Robin Sheikh say it’s something they’ve never seen done in Canada before.
“It’s basically the cooking style as well as the temperatures that it reaches. With the tandoor oven, that comes close to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, so it kind of cooks at a nice even temperature, and because of the high heat, it cooks very rapidly,” explained Tabraze.
There will be a range of flavours and fillings, from beef and chicken both spicy and mild, to cheese, vegetarian, plant-based options for vegans, and even a dessert na’an stuffed with Nutella.
“You’ll never get na’an bread as delicious as you will here,” said Tabraze.
The couple says the stall will be a different experience, where customers will be able to watch the cooking process up close.
The traditional tandoor oven reaches temperatures of 1000 degrees F.
“Because we have the tandoor out front, it’s going to be a very unique experience to see how that’s cooked, slapping it inside and then rapidly pulling it out,” said Tabraze.
The husband and wife team say they are excited to get to work.
“I was born and raised in Saint John, so it’s so nice to finally work in the City Market. I used to come here as a kid and go get meat and cheese from all the different stalls, so to actually own a stall in the market and be able to serve back to our community is just such a great feeling,” said Robin.
The two say they need to make sure their staff are trained and comfortable using the tandoor oven, and hope to open early August.
