Shivaranjini, a simple middle-class Indian woman, is living her American Dream though she is not a STEM professional with a US work visa. Her key to unlocking the American Dream for a happy life thousands of miles away from India is her passion for cooking – which she inherited from her parents in Karnataka. Ranjini’s journey as a businesswoman from her small home kitchen is an inspiration for other Indians, mostly on H4 visa, in the US.
Born in the family of cooks in Davanagere, the heart of Karnataka, Shivaranjini grew up learning and admiring cooking as a labor of love. When she moved to the States after her marriage in 2013, she arrived with a handbag, checked baggage, culinary creativity, love for food, the art of cooking authentic South Indian dishes, and hopes to make America her second home. Soon after having settled in California, she realized that homemade food is the way to the Indian immigrant community’s heart.
PC: Suggi Oota | Facebook
Her belief in the magic of authentic home-style food stemmed from her family restaurant, Hotel Sharabheshwara, that has been serving regional delectables with a perfect balance of flavors in the Davanagere district of Karnataka since the 1990s. The restaurant is a temple for her father, and working in the restaurant kitchen is a ritual for her mother. In her growing years, she watched her mother creating wonders with hand-ground spices, following the quality checklist, ensuring compliance with hygienic practices….
No compromise on quality – is the mantra that Shivaranjini imbibed from her family in India and instilled into her commercial kitchen ‘Suggi Oota’ in the Bay Area. Suggi Oota that Shivaranjini started early in 2020 is now a most sought-after Indian catering service in California. Be it a get-together, birthday bash, anniversary celebration, housewarming ceremony, or a community event of any size, Shivaranjini and Suggi Oota (meaning ‘feast’ in Kannada) are among the few names that influential Indian Americans recall to relish traditional Indian delights.
Her Suggi Oota kitchen has grown into a popular establishment with daily capacity of whipping up various north and south Indian thalis for an average of 100 guests. All this started with her son’s first birthday celebration in the Bay Area, their second home away from home, in 2015. “I still remember how the guests savored to their heart’s content the authentic South Indian food that I had cooked alone,” said Shivaranjini with a broad smile. “Some of them went on to ask me how I managed to cook for more than 20 people at once. I replied it is a lot more difficult to cook only for two people,” she added.
It was her epiphanic moment overwhelmed with the guests’ compliments – which encouraged her to start her own commercial kitchen service for those craving pure south and north Indian meals on various occasions. However, she started with baby steps, like taking small orders from neighbors and friends, registering with professional caterers for orders, etc.
Eventually, she became the talk of several neighborhoods in San Jose and beyond. Her name began to be circulated through word of mouth. It boosted her confidence to set up her own commercial kitchen. With her husband’s support, she obtained the official permits that she needed to start and run a commercial venture legally. She refers to the kitchen as a sanctuary where she works long hours with her team.
The USP of her Suggi Oota thalis is the use of millet and other immunity-boosting ingredients in her recipes. You name any dish from south Indian cuisines; she will cook it for you. You may wonder what worked in favor of an Indian woman in America; it is her steadfast love for food, passion for cooking, and the bond that she shares with a kitchen, no matter where it is. “While my cousins and friends would play or roam outdoors on school holidays, I spent time working and helping out in the family restaurant kitchen in Karnataka,” said Shivaranjini.
“If you have a dream and show up for it, there is nothing that can stop it from happening,” Suggi Oota’s founder Shivaranjini believes wholeheartedly. With both demand and love growing for her food, she is now aiming big to serve one million orders.
This exclusive story is part of the new series, Indian Life in America, by Travel Beats, a leading community portal for Indian Diaspora. Travel Beats is a subsidiary of Indian Eagle Travel that thousands of Indians in USA have chosen as their reliable air-ticketing partner. Subscribe to our newsletter for community stories, US-India travel news, visa and immigration updates.