First owner and Founder Mahmood Ul-Hussain was born in a small town outside of Rawalpindi in Pakistan, but spent his youth in Yorkshire, England.

Here, as a young man, he was trained as a cook in an Indian restaurant, and as his skills and confidence grew, Mahmood Ul-Hussain began to long to be his own man.

With the dream of opening his own restaurant, Mahmood moved to Denmark in the mid 70’s. Years later he would become known in the cityscape as a successful restaurateur.

But the dream of his own place took time to come through.

From welder to successful restaurateur.

In Denmark, Mahmood’s dreams were put on hold by reality, and he had to swap creativity and spices for a job as a welder at a cake factory in Albertslund’s grey concrete to provide for his family. But even reality cannot hold back a true entrepreneur, and in the glow of the welding flame, Mahmood managed to save enough to become his own man.

A peculiar fusion sees the light of day

A few years after arriving in Denmark, Mahmood Ul-Hussain’s dream came true, and he opened his first small place in Burmeistergade in Christianshavn where he – decades before it became popular – opened the doors to a peculiar fusion of food cultures – a grill bar with traditional fast food as well as a small selection of Indian and Pakistani specialties.

The food was good but…

It was not exactly the dream, but for the first time since his departure from Yorkshire, there was now a ladle in his hand, and the flame was used to create Indian specialties instead of metal assemblies.

But all good things come to those who wait

A restaurant sees the light of day

In 1995, Mahmood’s greatest dream came true when he opened the restaurant “Indian Mahal” in Tårbæk north of Copenhagen. And then things took off. Hussain ran this restaurant while also expanding with other restaurants in Copenhagen, one of which still adorns the street scene next to the trendy Torvehaller, namely Tandoori-Masala on Halmtorvet 5, which opened its doors on August 29, 1999.

When years of work turn into recognition

After a few years, the restaurant received complimentary reviews on TV2, in magazines such as Femina and Smag og Behag, as well as newspapers such as Politiken, Berlingske Tidende, B.T and Jyllands-Posten. Ultimately, Mahmood received the Great Curry Master diploma from the Burning Ring Worldwide Gourmet Association.

Mahmood finally proved that he made the best Indian food in Copenhagen!

In 2008, Mahmood took over one of Denmark’s oldest Indian restaurants, Kashmir from the 1980s on Nørrebrogade which after extensive renovation became Tandoori Masala’s latest restaurant.

Mahmood is no more, but his spirit lives on

Today, the family runs restaurants on Halmtorvet and Nørrebrogade following Mahmood’s death in 2012, while his soul and spirit still lead Tandoori Masala.