# Chicago’s Most Exciting New Restaurant Uses 900-Year-Old Recipes

> Chicago chef Zubair Mohajir’s restaurant Muhājir serves food from ancient spice routes with live-fire cooking.
- Title: Chicago’s Most Exciting New Restaurant Uses 900-Year-Old…
- Summary: Chicago chef Zubair Mohajir’s restaurant Muhājir serves food from ancient spice routes with live-fire cooking.
- Keywords: zubair mohajir, muhājir, spice routes, live fire cooking, chicago restaurants, chicago, nfl, food, culture, Most, Exciting, Restaurant
- Source: Eater — https://eater.com/pre-shift/992582/muhajir-chicago-restaurant-pre-shift
- Author: Bettina Makalintal
- Published: 2026-10-14T14:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: zubair mohajir, muhājir, spice routes, live fire cooking, chicago restaurants, chicago, nfl, food, culture
## Muhājir’s Story
Zubair Mohajir’s restaurant traces historical spice routes to tell the story of global migration.

> Muhājir is such a personal story for me, because my last name is Mohajir, and the meaning of “muhājir” in Arabic and Urdu is “one who migrates.”
## Muhājir’s Origin
The restaurant’s name comes from the Arabic and Urdu word for ‘one who migrates’.

> When the partition [of India and Pakistan] happened, the Muslims that were moved from India to Pakistan were named Muhājirs because they were migrated.
## Spice Route History
Muhājir’s food follows spice routes from Portugal through the Mediterranean to southern India.

> At Muhājir, it’s all about riding the spice road that runs from Portugal through the Mediterranean, through the Levantine [region], and then hits out of Basra, Iraq, into the Persian Gulf, and the first landmass it comes across is southern India, where I’m from.
## Live Fire Cooking
The restaurant uses live fire to cook dishes, inspired by the chef’s childhood in India.

> I remember growing up in my grandmother’s house back home in India, and it’s not like there were gas stoves everywhere.
## 927-Year-Old Duck Dish
A duck dish uses a 927-year-old recipe with cumin, coriander, cardamom, and toasted pine nuts.

> We do a duck that is inspired by a 927-year-old recipe we found from southern Spain that is influenced by Roman garums, Muslim origins, and Jewish origins.
## Bobo Bar
The bar Bobo celebrates the chef’s partner Jacob Dela Cruz’s Tagalog background.

> Jacob’s father is an amazing person and his name is Bho, and “bobo” in Tagalog means “silly” or “stupid,” as a term of endearment.
## Muhājir’s Experience
The restaurant has been running for a year with guests as its main investors.

> We don’t have investors who are private equity firms; our investors are our guests.
## Home for the Chef
The chef says Muhājir is the home he’s been working toward for his entire career.

> I plan to be old in this place. Things have been so crazy and wild and amazing, but slowly, every day, I sit more and more in that moment where I’m like, ‘This is home.’
## Key takeaway

Chicago chef Zubair Mohajir’s restaurant Muhājir uses 900-year-old spice route recipes cooked over live fire.