Navratri and Durga Puja are as much about festive food as they are about prayers and celebrations. While many people observe fasts and stick to vrat-friendly meals during Navratri, others celebrate with traditional sweets and festive spreads. From sabudana khichdi and vrat thalis to rasgullas and gulab jamuns, food remains an important part of the celebrations.
Food delivery platform Swiggy has shared a look at what India ordered during the festive period this year. According to the platform, orders for traditional sweets rose by 36.4% between October 17 and 20, 2026, compared with a similar festive period last year, from September 29 to October 2, 2025. The data also highlights the popularity of fasting-friendly dishes and complete festive meals across cities and smaller towns.
Sabudana Khichdi And Vrat Thalis Top The List
For those observing Navratri fasts, sabudana dishes were among the most popular choices on Swiggy. During the festive weekend of October 17 and 18, the platform delivered an average of 1,794 sabudana dishes every hour across India. Sabudana khichdi and sabudana vada were the most popular choices in this category.
Mumbai and Bengaluru recorded strong demand for sabudana khichdi, while Pune and Jaipur also showed considerable interest in the dish.
Vrat thalis were another popular pick for those looking for a complete festive meal. Navratri Special Vrat Thali with Singhara Poori led the demand among the thali options. Other favourites included Rajgira Poori and Aloo Hing 3-Course Thalis.
Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Noida were among the cities that ordered the most vrat thalis. One customer in Noida placed an order worth Rs 11,072 for 13 Navratri Special Vrat Thalis with Singhara Poori over the October 17-18 weekend.
Apart from sabudana and vrat thalis, other popular fasting options included Singhara-based preparations, kuttu and rajgira dishes, samak rice and makhana-based meals.
READ | Why Does Sabudana Khichdi Turn Mushy? I Tried 4 Methods And One Worked Best
Rasgulla Emerges As India’s Favourite Festive Sweet
While vrat-friendly meals kept food delivery platforms busy during the fasting days, traditional sweets also saw a rise in demand as celebrations continued.
Rasgulla emerged as India’s most-ordered sweet between October 17 and 20, recording an average of 495 orders every hour on Swiggy. Delhi, Mumbai and Gurgaon led the demand for the Bengali sweet.
Other popular choices included gulab jamun, kaju katli, jalebi and rasmalai. The demand was not limited to major cities, either. Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad were among the metros with high sweet orders, while Patna, Dehradun, Jodhpur, Gaya and Thiruvananthapuram also recorded strong demand.
Smaller towns joined in on the festive sweet rush, with Agartala, Shillong, Palwal and Bhatinda among the locations that showed high demand.
Mumbai also recorded a big-ticket sweet order during the four days. One customer spent Rs 9,870 on assorted mithais and Coffee Rasgulla Tiramisu, making it the highest-value rasgulla order reported by Swiggy between October 17 and 20.
