Why our tandoor uses mango wood, not gas

Walk into any new BBQ restaurant in DHA and you'll likely find a gas tandoor humming politely in the corner. They're cleaner. They're faster. They cost a tenth of what we spend on charcoal every month.

We still use mango wood. Here's why.

Smoke is flavor

A piece of chicken thigh in a gas tandoor cooks at the right temperature. A piece of chicken thigh in a charcoal tandoor cooks at the right temperature **and** breathes the smoke of the wood it sits over. That smoke contains compounds — guaiacol, syringol, vanillin — that bind to the surface of the meat. Gas can't do this.

Mango wood specifically gives a slightly sweet, floral smoke. We tried apple wood (too sweet), neem (too bitter), and tandoor charcoal alone (too neutral) before settling on mango.

The temperature swings on purpose

A gas tandoor sits at a steady 480°C. A charcoal tandoor swings between 380 and 540 depending on the fuel level. Most chefs see this as a problem to solve. We see it as a feature.

When the temperature drops, fat renders slowly into the meat. When it spikes, the surface chars and locks in the juice. The food cooks unevenly — and that's exactly the texture we want. Caramelised on the outside, slow-cooked inside.

It costs us PKR 47,000 a month more

That's the difference. Forty-seven thousand a month for charcoal versus gas, plus another twenty thousand for ventilation cleaning. We pass none of this on to your bill.

It is, frankly, the worst business decision we make every quarter. We keep making it anyway. Some things are worth doing badly on the spreadsheet.