A restaurant in Tripura with a unique way of taking orders

In 2004, I started the Swasti Niramish Hotel with my family—my wife, my brother, and my brother’s wife. What sets our restaurant apart from others in the city is our unique way of taking orders. While we have a menu displayed on a board, we don’t take orders as is commonly seen in restaurants. Instead, our staff carries small bowls of cooked dishes directly to the customers. The customer can take a look at the food and pick a bowl of the dish they wish to consume.

We have an array of freshly cooked dishes including shahi paneer, aloo pusto (potato with poppy seeds), kathal (jackfruit) curry, thor baata (banana flower paste), kochu saak (taro leaves), sukta (a vegetable medley), bash kurul kalia (bamboo shoot curry), gudok (a Tripuri dish cooked with fresh vegetables), dal, and doi (curd), and unique dishes such as aloo dim (where mashed potatoes are mixed with flour to shape them like eggs) and moghlet curry (a dish made from moong dal and minced paneer). The customers only pay for the items they pick. 

The concept is different from a traditional thali system. With thalis, customers are served large portions of multiple items, whether they like the food or not. It often leads to waste because people don’t eat everything on the plate.

I believe our concept puts the power in the hands of the customer. Why should anyone be forced to eat something they don’t want? With a walking platter, you see the dishes, decide what you want, and enjoy your meal without unnecessary wastage.

This approach also aligns with our commitment to sustainability. We cook in small batches throughout the day—rice is prepared eight times, dal three to four times—to ensure freshness and minimise leftovers.

Our serving style has been well received by our diverse customers. Many students and daily wage workers appreciate the variety and flexibility it offers. Our regular customers say they enjoy being able to try different dishes without being confined to a set meal. This was our intention from the beginning. I was a contractor in Agartala and would find it difficult to afford a meal. Hence, I thought of starting a hotel where people like me could eat without financial stress. The idea eventually resulted in the Swasti Niramish Hotel.

Now, we offer meals of dal, rice, and vegetables for INR 50. A small bowl of dal or vegetables is available for as little as INR 10. We’re able to maintain low costs because we purchase fresh vegetables directly from farmers.

We have also been able to expand our customer base. The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it many challenges, but it was during this time that many nearby government offices, hospitals, and police stations reached out to us to cater for them. We served 200–300 meals daily, which ensured that our employees had work in a period when most hotels were laying off staff. This was entirely due to the word-of-mouth marketing by our customers.

I plan to expand my business by opening a dhaba-style vegetarian hotel near the interstate bus terminus in Agartala. The goal is to serve the local commuters and bus and truck drivers with a range of delicious vegetarian dishes at reasonable prices.

Debabrata Sarkar is the owner of Swasti Niramish Hotel in Tripura.

As told to Anupam Sharma, IDR Northeast Media Fellow 2024–25.

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