By the time the last Ravana effigy crumbled on Dussehra evening, India had one more record to its name this festival season: a monumental appetite for fasting food. New data released by Swiggy on Thursday shows that the Navratri long weekend turned into a feast for the country’s delivery kitchens, with sabudana khichdi emerging as the undisputed champion of the vrat menu and rasgulla ruling the sweets charts.
Between October 17 and October 20, the stretch covering Durga Ashtami, Maha Navami and Dussehra, fasting dishes and traditional sweets emerged as the most popular choices on the platform. During the October 17-18 weekend alone, Swiggy delivered an average of 1,794 sabudana dishes every hour across the country. If you are wondering whether anyone in the country cooked this Navratri, the honest answer is: many did, but hundreds of thousands of plates of pearly, roasted-peanut-flecked sabudana khichdi arrived at doorsteps too.
Sabudana reigned supreme
Among all vrat favourites nationwide, sabudana-based dishes topped the list. Sabudana khichdi and sabudana vada were the two preparations that kept delivery partners busiest through the fasting days. Mumbai and Bengaluru recorded the strongest demand for sabudana khichdi, while Pune and Jaipur emerged as key markets for the dish, a reminder that the vrat table is now a national phenomenon, not just a Maharashtrian one.
Right behind the sabudana wave came Navratri vrat thalis, followed by singhara-based preparations, kuttu and rajgira specialities. Other fasting favourites, the report notes, included samak rice and makhana dishes, the quiet staples of a season when the rules of the kitchen change overnight.
The thali economy
The curated festive thali had its own moment. The “Navratri Special Vrat Thali with Singhara Poori” led the race among meal combinations, with “Rajgira Poori & Aloo Hing” three-course thalis also featuring among the sought-after options nationwide. Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Noida drove the highest demand for these combos.
And then there was the order that made the whole country do a double take. A customer in Noida placed a single feast worth Rs 11,072, including 13 units of the Navratri Special Vrat Thali with Singhara Poori, making it one of the biggest vrat orders recorded anywhere in the country during the October 17-18 weekend. Somewhere in Noida, 13 people ate very, very well.
The sweet surge
When the fast ended, the mithai began. Orders for traditional sweets spiked 36.4% between October 17 and 20 compared to the same festive period last year. Rasgulla claimed the top spot across India, clocking an average of 495 orders every hour, with Delhi, Mumbai and Gurgaon dominating demand for the spongy favourite.
Classic celebratory sweets were right behind: gulab jamun, kaju katli, jalebi and rasmalai all featured among the most ordered sweets. The highest-value rasgulla order of the period came from Mumbai, where a customer spent Rs 9,870 on a spread of assorted mithais and Coffee Rasgulla Tiramisu.
Beyond the metros
What makes this year’s numbers interesting is not just the scale but the geography. While Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad saw the heaviest sweet demand, emerging markets such as Patna, Dehradun, Jodhpur, Gaya and Thiruvananthapuram showed high demand too. Among smaller towns, Agartala, Shillong, Palwal and Bathinda led the sweet orders. The festive sweet tooth, it turns out, does not need a metro pin code.
The broader takeaway is one that food platforms have been quietly confirming for years: delivery is now part of India’s festive ritual. The thali is still cooked at home in millions of kitchens, but the vrat khichdi from the restaurant down the road has earned its place beside it.
FAQs
Which dish topped Swiggy’s Navratri 2026 charts?
Sabudana-based dishes were the most ordered vrat items nationwide, with sabudana khichdi and sabudana vada emerging as the clear festive favourites.
How fast did India order fasting food?
During the October 17-18 weekend, Swiggy delivered an average of 1,794 sabudana dishes every hour across the country.
How much did sweet orders grow this Navratri?
Traditional sweet orders rose 36.4% year-on-year between October 17 and 20, with rasgulla topping the list at 495 orders an hour.
What was the biggest single vrat order?
A customer in Noida spent Rs 11,072 on a feast that included 13 units of the Navratri Special Vrat Thali with Singhara Poori.
Which cities ordered the most festive sweets?
Delhi, Mumbai and Gurgaon led rasgulla demand, while smaller towns like Agartala, Shillong, Palwal and Bathinda also recorded strong orders.
From the vrat kitchen to the mithai box, this Navratri proved one thing: whatever else changes about how India celebrates, the appetite for the familiar only grows. Informeia will keep tracking how the country’s festivals play out on its tables.
