Biryani with a side of IT

Bushra arrived in Germany at the start of the Covid pandemic. Abdul had already been settled here for a few years and was living in Chemnitz as a computer engineer. During the five years that they were in a long-distance relationship, she took classes at the Goethe Institute in Hyderabad to work up to B2 level in German. But when the lockdowns began, she was unable to put it to good use. What made those early months and years bearable was discovering her joy and talent in cooking. While she jokes that she only married Abdul on the condition that he would be doing all the cooking, she began experimenting with recipes at home, out of both homesickness and boredom.

She gradually expanded her repertoire and even invited friends to try her food, who all exclaimed that it tasted like home. What first started as a “Schnappsidee” turned into a concrete vision to start their own business. With encouragement from Abdul, Bushra gathered the courage to sign a lease on a food truck and so began the story of Zusshu.

Their first day of business was the 10^th of December, 2024. They parked the food truck in front of a supermarket in Fürstenwalde. Many locals had never had Indian food before, and Bushra often stood outside the truck to offer samples to passerby. Over time the popularity of the food truck grew through word-of-mouth and they were given the opportunity to relocate to a location at the Tesla factory, where Abdul was working at the time. There the business won even more traction, with more than 50 people waiting in line at times and with more than 500 meals being served in a single day. Bushra recalls a time that Abdul texted her that his manager was standing in the line. Bushra’s answer? “He’s a customer, just like everyone else. He’ll have to wait.”

The leap to open up a brick-and-mortar restaurant came with the pleas from existing customers at the Tesla factory that they wished their family members in Berlin could also taste the food. And in one month, they did it: it took Bushra 15 days to find the restaurant space and then another two weeks for them to get everything ready for opening day. To save costs, they did everything themselves. By this point, Abdul had also resigned from his position at Tesla to commit fully to the venture.

As Abdul says, if they had done their research beforehand, they would have ended up having one sauce for 20 different dishes—not unusual in bigger, more established restaurants. But with their focus on preparing fresh recipes from scratch, they developed their own processes through trial and error.

“If you’re in a good mood, you make good food. If you’re in a bad mood, you make bad food,” says Bushra. She remembers how she would work with her spoons to add spices to the dishes, all laid out in bowls in the kitchen. Abdul noticed that the flavours were changing and suggested that they need to standardise the recipes in grams. This step, including the hiring of additional employees, allowed them to take their first holiday in over a year.

With the success of their first location, Zusshu is planning to open more locations across the country. The hope is for there to be a Zusshu in the 10 biggest cities of Germany, as a gift to the country that they have made home. Introducing Berlin to Hyderabadi cuisine has brought joy and spice to their life here. Still, they are conscious of issues facing the broader Indian community, with 60% of their customers being Indian. A recent job posting for a cook garnered more than 500 applications, mostly from people already based in Berlin. They also know many qualified professionals who are struggling to find employment. As of 2025, Indians are the third largest group of foreign nationals in Berlin, the only larger groups being Turkish and Ukrainian nationals. The story that doesn’t always get told is that many are also leaving, due to challenges in the job market.

With their roots in India and feet planted in Germany, Bushra and Abdul are straddling two worlds and navigating new stages in growing their business. When asked how they catered to both Indian and German customers when developing their recipes in the food truck, Bushra replies that they kept a chili sauce on the side to serve to customers who wanted a bit more heat. For them, authenticity is grounded in connecting people together. Whether you’ve never had Indian food before or you’re homesick for your favourite meal, food is an experience. And as IT specialists know, there are always ways to optimise the user experience.