Ex-Teacher Turns Rooftop Into Dhaba, Serves Traditional Haryanvi Food Cooked Over Fire

Every morning in Gurugram’s Sector 46, as the city awakens to the hum of traffic and fast-paced routines, Suman Bokan lights a fire on her rooftop. Not a metaphorical one, but a real chulha, made of clay, fed with wood, and steeped in tradition. 

On it sits a mitti ka handi (clay pot) filled with simmering saag or fresh dal, while in the corner, her father-in-law grinds flour and her mother-in-law churns butter by hand. Together, they are reviving a flavour of India that is slowly disappearing from our cities.

Once a schoolteacher with a 13-year career, Suman left the security of the classroom to follow her passion – cooking. What began as a small family effort to serve homemade food soon grew into something much bigger, touching lives in the most unexpected ways.

A rooftop kitchen born from love and loss

The journey was not born out of ambition alone. Years ago, when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Suman turned to clay pots in search of a more natural and healing way of cooking. She found comfort in the slow-cooked, earthy taste they brought to every dish. Even after her mother passed away during the pandemic, the mitti ke bartan remained. They became a quiet tribute, a way of keeping her presence alive in every meal.

As relatives and friends began tasting her food, they noticed something different. Her rotis were softer, her dals richer, and everything came with a flavour that no steel pot or pressure cooker could match. 

“People kept asking where we got our food from,” Suman told The Better India. “When we said it was made right here, they asked if we could cook for them too.”

From WhatsApp orders to winter gatherings

Suman’s family rallied around her. They created a WhatsApp group to take orders, delivering meals cooked on the rooftop with care and consistency. The demand grew quickly. But it was the winter months that truly changed everything.

“People began asking, ‘Can we come and sit by the fire? Eat bajra roti with sarson ka saag the way it’s meant to be eaten?’” she says. 

And so they came, not just for the food, but for the experience. What followed was something neither Suman nor her family had imagined. Every day, nearly 40 people began arriving at her rooftop dhaba. Families, office workers, foodies, all hungry not just for a meal, but for the warmth and simplicity they rarely found elsewhere.

Keeping tradition alive

Today, the rooftop eatery is a full-fledged family operation, run with love and care. Her father-in-law still grinds the grains, her mother-in-law prepares the makhan, and Suman cooks every dish herself, from fresh rotis to tangy chutneys to cool glasses of chhaach. Everything is made on the chulha, in clay pots, the way her mother once did.

“Haryanvi food isn’t easily available everywhere,” she explains. “I want our traditional dishes to stay alive. They are part of our identity.” Her food is not just filling, it is healing, both for the body and the soul.

Suman now dreams of growing this into a larger brand. But even as she scales up, she wants to ensure the essence remains. “The flavours of our roots should not be forgotten, no matter how modern the city becomes.”

If you are ever in Gurugram, do stop by this modest rooftop in Sector 46. You might come for the saag, but you will stay for the feeling, that rare sense of home, warmth, and being truly cared for.