Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

India orders 95 biryanis per minute: Swiggy

December 24, 2019 17:16 IST

So Swiggy offered 35,056 varieties of biryani to its users, says Peerzada Abrar.

Biryani

IMAGE: Biryani. Photograph: Kind courtesy Zaffran

India ordered an average of 95 biryanis per minute, or 1.6 biryanis every second, according to food delivery giant Swiggy’s yearly report on the country’s food ordering habits.

Swiggy satiated India’s big appetite for biryani with 35,056 varieties and biryani combos.

The most popular were boneless chicken biryani, chicken dum biryani, mutton biryani, egg biryani, veg biryani and paneer biryani.

Thrissur in Kerala, famous for its biryani combos, saw a special addition this year -- Freedom food combo, prepared by jail inmates and delivered fresh by Swiggy. It has received over 2,000 orders in the short time since its launch. 

Mumbai’s Chal Dhanno Tawa Biryani, a quick-serve vegetarian biryani for those in a hurry, was sold on Swiggy for just Rs 19.

Pune’s Chicken Sajuk Tup Biryani, priced at Rs 1,500, was the most expensive biryani.

Besides different forms of biryani, the most loved dishes in 2019 included masala dosa, paneer butter masala, chicken and veg fried rice, tandoori chicken and dal makhani.

Swiggy’s analysis is based on the orders it received; the company claims it is the largest such platform in the country. It looked at orders from all of India, for the period between January and November this year. 

Khichdi

IMAGE: Khichdi. Photograph: Kind Courtesy Khichdi Experiment/Facebook

A wide variety of comfort food also saw big demand.

A quick glance at the khichdi orders on Swiggy this year highlights how the category has grown rapidly from January to November, with a 128 per cent increase in orders.

A considerable increase was noticed during the festive period of Navratri.

Further, a variety of thalis like methi malai paneer, dhaba dal with rice and chapatis thali, gobi matar masala, dal makhani with jeera rice and chapatis thali and the mini dosa, idli, vada and sambar thali have found a special place on consumers’ meal tables.

 

Falooda

IMAGE: Falooda. Photograph: Kind courtesy Kanchana Bose/Creative Commons

Joining 1.76 million gulab jamun orders and 200,301 halwa orders was the falooda (1.2 million), the newest entry to the top desserts on Swiggy with nearly orders this year.

A special ice-cream filled falooda was ordered over 6,000 times in Mumbai.

Another favourite, choco pie and drink, got 79,242 orders in Chandigarh alone. 

Other popular sweet treats include the usual suspects such as Death By Chocolate, tender coconut ice cream, tiramisu ice cream and kesar halwa.

Tofu and Saag with Roasted Kale

IMAGE: Tofu and Saag with Roasted Kale. Photograph: Kind courtesy Chef Savio

With more and more Indians being mindful of their eating habits and preferences, Swiggy noticed a significant uptake in keto (diet)-specific items ordered.

The overall orders for healthy options crossed 350,000 this year.

While most restaurants have created a category within their menus to cater to fitness enthusiasts, Swiggy noticed a 306 per cent increase in keto-specific items ordered in 2019.

Dishes like keto brownies, keto-friendly Tuscan chicken and healthy red rice poha were some of the most ordered in the healthy category.

Keto brownies are the most indulged sweet treat by fitness enthusiasts. There was a 249 per cent increase in healthy food orders, including the one for keto. 

Swiggy, which has raised more than $1.5 billion from investors such as Naspers, DST Global and Tencent, also received unusual requests from customers.

This included delivering papaya leaves for a dengue patient, an oxygen machine, wigs and temple prasad.

Items such as documents, clothes, food, keys, phones and laptop chargers, helmets and spectacles were the most common items picked up for users through Swiggy Go, an instant pick up and drop service to send packages anywhere across the city.

‘One of our delivery partners in Bengaluru travelled over 34 km to handover a bike key to the customer.

‘Food remained a priority, sending a meal (or) lunch box was one of the most popular tasks on Swiggy Go,’ said the company.

Peerzada Abrar
Source: source image