Becoming a mother ignites a passion for cooking that launched a business

Every evening, Lipi Begum prepares a dinner of traditional South Asian dishes for her family using her own spice blends, which she sells through her Snellville-based business, Jar Masala.

Begum was born in Bangladesh and migrated with her family to Atlanta when she was 13 years old, she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Yet it was only after she had a child of her own that she discovered a passion for the flavors of her childhood.

“I have always loved the South Asian food I grew up eating, but it was not until after I had my daughter, Zaara, that I fell in love with cooking South Asian food and introducing her to the flavors I grew up eating,” Begum said. “Motherhood ignited the love and emotion of cooking and feeding my kids the food I grew up eating.

After the birth of daughter Zaara, Lipi Begum (left) fell in love with cooking the South Asian dishes of her childhood. (Courtesy of Jar Masala)

Finding an easier way to cook South Asian food at home

Researching recipes and remembering family favorites led Begum to create spice blends for the dishes she cooked most often.

Dishes such as biryani and butter chicken got to the table faster when the spices needed were already mixed and ready to use. Butter chicken, despite its simplistic name, can use up to 12 different spices; instead of measuring each one by one, Begum prepared a mix she could keep in a jar.

“That was my focus, how I could make cooking these dishes at home easy,” Begum said. “I didn’t like the blends I found in the store, so I made my own. My daughter had just turned 10 and my son was not yet 6 when I realized these blends would be useful for others, too.”

That’s when Jar Masala was born.

Jar Masala’s product line grew beyond spice mixes to include flavored ghee and meal kits. (Courtesy of Jar Masala)

From local farmers market to stores nationwide

Begum had been a customer at the Lilburn Farmers Market when she first began selling there. Her second market was the Avondale Estates Farmers Market. Then her customers started suggesting other markets, like those at Grant Park and in Marietta.

She now sells at a rotating list of farmers markets, including Marietta, Grant Park, Alpharetta, Athens, Cartersville, Suwanee and Chattanooga, as well as online.

Through appearances at national markets sponsored by the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Georgia Grown program, her products are sold from Idaho to New York. Closer to home, they’re available at Living Well Farmers Market in Suwanee, the Local Exchange in Marietta and Haven Bodega in Lilburn.

Expanding with seasonings inspired by the melting pot

While Begum’s family tended to enjoy South Asian dishes for dinner, they preferred to eat American-style food for lunch. Their routine led Begum to apply her methods to spice blends influenced by the American melting pot, like lemon pepper, Cajun masala and seasoned kosher salt.

“When we started in 2020, I was just selling traditional South Asian blends, but now half our blends are everyday seasoning mixes like the lemon pepper and garlic and chili blend. Our garden masala is like an Italian seasoning,” she told the AJC. “I like to think we are combining the best of both worlds, the East and the West. And our customers are always letting us know what new blend they’d like us to make.”

Along the way, Lipi Begum began to add American-inspired spice mixes to Jar Masala's offerings, such as lemon pepper. (Courtesy of Jar Masala)

A uniquely literal brand name

Jar Masala’s blends are packaged in glass jars with wire bails and come with a wooden spoon tucked alongside. Begum always knew she would be using jars, and the term “masala” simply means “spice mix.”

The product line includes sea salt blends and sugar blends, flavored ghee and meal kits such as a chana masala kit that contains everything needed to prepare the dish at home.

Her customers asked her to do cooking classes and she found it was something she enjoyed. Begum teaches cooking classes at Becca’s Well in Lawrenceville and in private homes.

Dad Likhon and son Rahil — the family’s official food taster — help promote Lipi Begum’s Jar Masala at the 2025 Flavor of Georgia competition. (Courtesy of Jar Masala)

Jar Masala connects people across generations

At home, Begum’s son, Rahil, 11, is laughingly referred to as the family’s official food taster.

“He’s the one who approves what I’m making,” she said.

And 16-year-old daughter Zaara has graduated from helping her mother cook by stirring in the spices to preparing dinner all by herself.