- Ruksana Begum started 'Ghar Batti' at 48 after quitting a 19-year career in the teaching profession.
- Her tiffin service has now expanded to catering 10-12 events monthly.
- The lavish menu offers Kashmiri and Indian dishes including dum polav, mirchi korma, palak paneer, chicken 65, etc.
Age is just a number when you are driven by passion and resilience. At 48, Ruksana Begum chose a different path. After spending years teaching in Kashmir, Ruksana gathered the courage to turn her cooking passion into a tiffin business in 2019, months before COVID. Now at 55, Ruksana has expanded her business beyond tiffins to catering for events and supplying food to hospitals, schools, and banks.
"There is no age limit. A person has to be patient. If you have patience, you can overcome the challenges and achieve what you want," she said, reflecting on her journey.
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How Ghar Batti Food Service Started
Ruksana started the Ghar Batti Food Service in 2019, after spending almost 19 years in the teaching profession. Encouraged by her children, she began her entrepreneurial journey with the tiffin service at the age of 48. While naming it, she kept it simple yet homely. Combining "Ghar," which means home, with "Batti," the Kashmiri word for rice, she kept the home-cooked food at the heart of her business.
At Ghar Batti Food Service, customers will enjoy a delicious combination of Kashmiri dishes such as rogan josh, yakhni, dum polav, and mirchi korma, with popular Indian preparations such as palak paneer, chicken 65, chilli chicken, and butter chicken. The menu is also expanded across seasonal Kashmiri offerings, including harissa, a traditional winter meat dish, along with pickles, smoked fish, and other local preparations.
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Ghar Batti Began With Zero Investment
A food venture often requires substantial capital, renting space, hiring staff, and building a customer base before the first order arrives. But for Ruksana, the gas, spices, ingredients, and hours of work she put into the business became the initial investment. She started the tiffin service from her home kitchen using resources already available to her. "There is work and time. That is an investment," she said while speaking to Startup Pedia.
At the start of the business, she managed everything, with the support of her father. Later, when her business grew and orders came pouring in, the family came together for help.
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Business Expanded Beyond Tiffin Service
The tiffin model, however, has its restrictions. Delivering food every morning and evening became a challenge, requiring a considerable amount of time and effort with minimal profits. The value of individual tiffin orders ranged from less than Rs 100 to Rs 2,000, depending on the order and customer demand.
Continuing the tiffin service for around a year, Ruksana Begum eventually transitioned to catering and event-based orders. Instead of committing to daily deliveries, she switched to taking orders from events and large gatherings.
Customers who had eaten her food before asked her to prepare home-cooked meals for bigger occasions. Today she caters to almost 10-12 events a month. Today, the business has grown from individual customers to catering services for hospitals, banks, offices, and schools.