Vivacious Sarika Jain, Owner, SWAAD Home Food Services, Ahmedabad is our first foodpreneur who has been into the business of home cooking since last five years. Running the show successfully and moving ahead confidently. She has also empowered two women. She is spreading happiness through her food service in Applewood Township, South Bopal, Shela, Club O7 Road, Bopal and Prahlad Nagar areas of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Let's know about her journey as an foodpreneur.
Petpuja - Welcome to the blog , Sarika. Tell us something about yourself. How did you zero in on home cooking as a business?
Sarika: I was married at the young age of 20 years and was happily busy setting up my new home. 
Petpuja - Welcome to the blog , Sarika. Tell us something about yourself. How did you zero in on home cooking as a business?
I have always given priority to my family over my own ambitions and goals as I felt it right thing to do at that moment. With children entering the scene, they became my first priority and I felt contentment in taking care of the family. Doing something of my own was always in my mind, though I had not figured it out. When we moved from Assam to Ahmedabad in 2007, it was a new experience altogether. The city's culture brought out the best version of mine. I became more independent and confident.Few more years down the line and children were ready to explore the world on their own. When my daughter left to pursue her college in 2015, I found lots of time at my disposal. I began to explore different ideas to take that entrepreneurial plunge, I was always dreaming about. After toying with some ideas, I zeroed in to "home food services" as I see a high demand in my area of residence. There were not any reliable and good service providers too. As I was working on the nuances of starting my food enterprise, a fellow resident of my society asked me if I may take order to serve meals on regular basis. Andar se awaaz aayi, “go, grab it!” And I did. I started off impromptu with SWAAD and have grown each day since then.
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| SWAAD Dahivada |
Petpuja: Are you trained professionally or a hobby has turned into profession?
Sarika: To be honest, it was neither. It is just something I know I am good at. My food and sense of taste has always been appreciated by friends and family. I love to experiment a lot in cooking.
Petpuja: Did you have any fears before starting?
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| SWAAD Besan Ladoo gift pack |
Petpuja: Did you have any fears before starting?
Sarika: I wouldn’t call it fear, but I could feel the butterflies in my stomach when I prepared my first order. In the earlier days, I was anxious about people’s feedback and criticism about my food. With time, I have realised that as long as I am honest with my work, mujhe koi darr nahi. I have to take certain comments into my stride and ignore people who try to bring me down. I give my best to my work and take into consideration about my clients’ taste, likes and dislikes etc. But, in every dish that goes out of my kitchen, there is my special touch "my tadka" which makes it special for my clients.
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| SWAAD Burger |
Petpuja: What's the USP of your products?
Sarika:Healthy and hygienic home food prepared with the best quality ingredients.
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| SWAAD Potato Chilly |
Petpuja: Pls share your journey as an entrepreneur.
Sarika: When I started I was not aware where I was heading into. Through experience, I learned what works for me and what doesn’t, and I began to shape my plans accordingly. It’s okay not to know the end goal as long as you’re constantly evolving.
Another very important learning is - it is not always about money. Sometimes, it's about relationships and self growth . My enterprise has allowed me to gain much more than just money - self esteem, self confidence, peace of mind and being occupied are some of the positive changes. Seeing myself as an entrepreneur has opened new doors of growth for me.
SWAAD Thali
Sarika:There’s no particular category. Many of my clients are working couples, students, young and middle aged professionals who are staying away from the family due to job change. I also cater to senior citizens who need highly customized meals. Corporate orders, monthly tiffin packages and party packs is another group.
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| SWAAD Pudina Lachcha Prantha with Paneer Butter Masala |
Petpuja: Which cuisine is your forte?
Sarika:Rajasthani and Punjabi - dal-baati-churma, gatte ki sabzi, chhole kulche, dal makhani and much more!
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| SWAAD Red Chilly Pickle |
Petpuja: What are your future plans?
Sarika:I plan to learn professional baking. As the demand for healthy salad bowl is rising, I am planning to add few more healthy salads to my products. I wish to scale up my services to cater to larger number of people with different tastes. I am planning to add more cuisines and bakery products in my menu.  |
| SWAAD Chocolate Cake |
Petpuja: These days people are very health conscious. What's your take on making healthy meals?Sarika: Yeah! We are seeing much discussion about healthy foods. It's good. preparing healthy meal is no rocket science. Just follow the simplest rules of Indian cooking. It is very easy to prepare healthy meals at home. Use less oil, avoid the use of artificial taste enhancers or colors and use homemade masalas to prepare a food at home. We all know that Indian masalas are known to boost immunity.
Petpuja: The best compliment ever you have received?
Sarika:“Bilkul ghar jaisa”
Tempting Samosa from Swaad
Petpuja: How do you take critical comments from clients?Sarika: Initially, it was hurtful and I fretted over them for long time. Slowly, I have understood the importance of critical reviews and began to look at them in a positive way. The comments are an opportunity to improve and get better. I now take criticism with grace and appreciation, and look forward to clientele feedback.
Petpuja: Please share some interesting recipes with our readers.
Sarika: A quick snack and a quicker dessert! |
SWAADishtDAL WADAIngredients:
1 cup Green whole moong dal
¼th cup dhuli moong (yellow) dal
¼th cup chana dal
⅛th cup urad dhuli dal
Hing (1 pinch)
3-4 Green chillies
Ginger 1 inch piece
Garlic Paste (optional) 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Chaat Masala 1 teaspoon
Oil for frying
Making the batter- Soak all dals for 2-3 hours.
- Grind coarsely with green chillies and ginger.
- Shift the batter in a container.
- Add salt and garlic paste as per taste.
- Add 1 teaspoon oil.
- Mix the batter for 2-3 minutes using your fingers till it becomes airy and smooth.
Making of Dal Vadas:
- Take oil in a kadhai (cooking pot). Heat till it reaches smokey point .
- Pour the batter into the pot using your hands or a spoon.
- Fry on medium flame, and once the crust is formed, fry on full flame till golden-brown.
- Take them out on a tissue paper.
- Sprinkle a little chaat masala and serve with green chillies and chopped onions!
SWAADisht INSTANT JALEBI
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| Juicy Jalebi from SWAAD |
Making the Sugar Syrup
2 bowls sugar
1 bowl water
Kesar and ilaichi (Saffron and Cardamom) for taste
Method: - Mix sugar in water.
- Boil the mixture. Keep stirring till the sugar dissolves.
- Let it remain on the gas on low flame for two minutes. Keep it aside.
Ingredients:
1 bowl Maida
1 packet Eno
2 teaspoons Ghee
1 bowl water
Method: - Mix the maida, eno, and ghee until uniform.
- Add one bowl of water consistently as you beat the batter in one direction. It's important to make batter light and airy.
- Keep mixing for 3-4 minutes. The batter should turn smooth.
- Make sure it is lump-free and keep checking consistency - it should be free flowing and not too thick.
- Pour the batter into a sauce bottle. You may create a "jugad" also to shape jalebis. Get creative! (milk packets can work too!)
- Pour enough ghee or oil into a pan and keep it on high flame.
- Squeeze in the batter gently in a circular motion to get the desired shape.
- After pouring the batter, turn the gas to medium heat. The last one minute, turn the flame to low and fry the jalebi. This makes them crispy.
- Remove the jalebi from the pan and dip it into the sugar syrup with the help of a skewer. Make sure the syrup is warm.
- Allow to rest for two minutes!
Petpuja: Have you taken Fssai ?
Sarika:Not yet, but will certainly go for it soon.
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| Cool Sandesh from SWAAD |
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| Idli Vada Thali from SWAAD |
Petpuja: How is your family support in your enterprise? Sarika: My 80-year-old mother-in-law is all help whenever I need her. My husband is my right hand ( logistics to mental support) whereas my children handle the accounts and packaging flawlessly! As you can see, it’s a family enterprise. I feel very grateful. They are always pushing me to make SWAAD bigger and better.
Petpuja: What is your message to women, who may be exploring home cooking as a business?
Sarika: Every one of us has some talent and we need to recognize it. Women are nurturers by nature and the most of the Indian households are run by women. We are so lost in taking care of the family that we keep our passions and dreams on the backburners. For many the dreams are buried forever. While life is all about compromise and negotiations, I urge all women to try and fly a little higher each day. Home-cooking is one enterprise which can give women a new identity along with taking care of their homes and families. All the women who love cooking, please do give this a try but with honesty and hygiene. It's about providing pure and fresh food with the people around.
Petpuja: Thanks Sarika for sharing your journey as an entrepreneur.
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