Moe and Ahmad Parwana recently brought their Mexican Halal fusion food truck to Bayside, their hometown.
Photo by Iryna Shkurhan
While messing around in the kitchen of a Mexican restaurant one day, two Afghani brothers from Queens wondered if a taco with middle eastern flavors and elements could work harmoniously.
They heated up a tortilla and laid down some cubed tandoori chicken coated with spices such as coriander and cumin, traditionally used in Middle Eastern dishes. They kept it Mexican by adding some lettuce, pico and cheese. To top it off, they drenched it with white sauce, a staple at every halal cart in the city. And they didn’t forget a slice of lime.
The match made in heaven combo, which they say has never been sold before on the east coast, got their creative juices flowing needed to create an expansive menu of fusion bites. Two years later they opened up the first of its kind Mexican halal fusion spot, Krazy Street Food – a popup truck making its way around Queens.
“We realized that a lot of Muslims can’t have Mexican food because it’s not halal,” said Ahmad Parwana, the eldest of the duo. “So we changed our flavors completely to a Middle Eastern flavor, but in a Mexican style. Mexican food is always spicy so it mixes perfectly with Middle Eastern food.”
Since 2010, Ahmad and Moe Parwana have worked their way up in the catering industry on Long Island. From golf courses in Nassau County to venues in the Hamptons, the brothers have catered more than 2,000 weddings over the years. But they got their start in the kitchen learning from their parents, and watching Rachael Ray on TV, while growing up in Bayside.
When the pandemic hit, weddings came to a halt and left them out of work. When a friend who owns a Mexican restaurant offered them work, they jumped at the chance to get back into the kitchen. At the time, they already had their sights set on opening their own food truck serving halal classics like chicken and lamb…
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