Most Ordered Food in India: Unpacking India's Food Delivery Frenzy

If you think pizza rules the delivery game in India, you’re in for a shock. The most ordered food across India is biryani, hands down. It’s not just a meal; this single dish has crushed the competition and redefined what Indians crave when hunger strikes. Zip through any city — whether it’s Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, or Cochin — and you’ll find biryani at the top of everyone’s delivery list. It’s no passing fad. Data points from popular delivery apps like Swiggy and Zomato convincingly show the same story year after year: biryani appears in millions of orders each month, making it a national obsession. Let’s pull the lid off India’s most-ordered food and see what makes it irresistible.

Biryani: The Unbeatable Reigning King

Scroll through food delivery stats, and biryani’s numbers jump out. According to Swiggy’s StatEATstics 2023 report, Indians ordered over 2.5 biryanis every single second — that’s almost 215,000 plates a day! Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Bengaluru all compete, but biryani’s also a favorite in smaller cities like Lucknow and Coimbatore. All kinds of biryani feature strongly — from classic Hyderabadi to Kolkata and Lucknowi. Still, the chicken biryani is the undisputed chartbuster, outselling veg biryani by four or five times. When COVID lockdowns struck, biryani orders actually went up, showing that comfort and cravings always find a way.

Why is biryani the MVP? For starters, it’s a complete meal in a box. You get fluffy, aromatic rice, a punchy masala, layers of meat or veggies, and enough portion for lunch and dinner. Family orders, office parties, lazy Sunday cravings — biryani feels special and festive but works anytime. There’s also an “aspirational” angle: for college students and young professionals, biryani’s a treat after a long week or a way to mark a celebration. Restaurants have taken notice — you see new biryani brands popping up everywhere, like Behrouz Biryani or Biryani By Kilo, riding this wave by promising delivery that captures authentic flavors in fancy packaging.

Biryani isn’t just for takeout, of course. It’s the centerpiece of weddings, Eid feasts, birthdays, and late-night hostel parties. The diversity is endless, too. South India swears by Andhra and Malabar biryanis (often punchy and fiery), while North India adores the Mughlai, Sindhi, and Awadhi styles (more aromatics, fewer chilies). Restaurants tinker with proteins: fish, prawns, paneer, mutton, or just veggies loaded with fried onions and nuts. There’s even vegan biryani on some menus. This flexibility keeps it relevant no matter where you live or what you eat.

The Biryani Surge: What Makes It So Addictive?

It’s not just the taste. Studies and surveys about India’s ordering habits pin biryani’s popularity on a mix of factors. First, there’s nostalgia and emotional draw — biryani means family, comfort, and celebrations. Food psychologist Preeti Chhibber explained in a 2024 interview: “Biryani sits at the crossroads of luxury and familiarity. It’s affordable, but it feels indulgent.” There’s another practical angle: biryani stays fresh and tasty in delivery boxes much longer than, say, dosa or noodles. Fried onions actually taste better the longer they steam, and the mixed spice profile holds up under travel. So foodies know even late deliveries will still hit the spot.

The data supports this hunger for variety. A 2023 Zomato study found over 60 distinct biryani styles listed by major restaurants countrywide, not counting countless home-cooked recipes. Even first-time cooks jumped in — Google searches for “easy biryani recipe” hit all-time highs during lockdowns. Many online cooking classes now focus on single-pot biryani recipes people can batch-cook and refrigerate, a perfect trick for working folks.

Biryani also serves families, not just solo diners. Group orders get discounts, and most biryani outlets offer combos with raita, salad, and dessert. Delivery giants report that 38% of biryani customers are bulk/birthday orders, not just weekday dinners. Want to try a “pro hack”? Add a boiled egg or paneer cubes to your order for extra texture. Some folks even sprinkle chaat masala on top, taking the classic recipe in a “street food” direction. Biryani has endless remix potential.

How “Biryani Economics” Changed Indian Food Delivery

When people talk about the “biryani boom,” they’re not kidding. There’s real money moving around here. Ever notice that biryani is never out of stock during online sales or festival discounts? Restaurants and cloud kitchens have built entire businesses around biryani. Behrouz Biryani, for example, reported over two million deliveries a year, even in smaller cities. Swiggy Instamart launched instant biryani kits, and dozens of brands ship their own spice blends on Amazon. If you thought only moms made biryani at home, think again — bachelor apartments and shared flats are now top markets.

Want a peek at how crazy things can get? Check out this data table from Swiggy and Zomato’s 2024 year-end report:

This isn’t just an urban phenomenon. Data from 2024 shows cities like Raipur, Indore, and Nashik making the top 50 biryani hubs — sometimes beating kebabs, burgers, and even paneer tikka. The biryani boom isn’t exclusive: regional players cash in with localized spices and packaging, sometimes sending disposable bowls with separate chutneys to level up the experience. During holidays like Eid or Diwali, biryani centers need to double or triple cooking staff just to keep up. If you’re planning a big festival party, pre-order at least a day ahead or risk missing out.

With the rise of “cloud kitchens” — restaurants without a dine-in area, cooking just for delivery — biryani reached a new level. You can now get specialty biryani from a chef’s home kitchen, not just the usual big brands. Cloud kitchens offer dizzying options — from gilafi seekh biryani to vegan and low-carb biryani. The speed is fast too; fifteen-minute delivery windows are common in metropolitan areas. Have leftovers? Pro tip: Sprinkle some fresh coriander before microwaving, and your next-day plate tastes almost restaurant-fresh.

Biryani’s Competition and the Close Contenders

Biryani may wear the crown, but it’s not without close rivals. Pizza, burger, and samosa orders have exploded in the past five years. Recent data put pizza as the second most ordered dish on many platforms, especially during cricket matches and festivals. But even the big pizza chains admit defeat: Dominos India’s 2023 Chief Marketing Officer said publicly, “People in India may love pizza, but biryani is what they celebrate with.”

Tandoori chicken, Chinese noodles, butter chicken, and momos also feature heavily on people’s favorites lists. You even have wild card entries like pav bhaji in Mumbai and chole bhature in Delhi making serious inroads, especially for group orders. But here’s the secret: pizza and burgers excel in solo or couple orders, while biryani’s strength is its ability to serve three to six people at once. For large groups, high school reunions, or office lunches, biryani is hands-down the easiest crowd-pleaser.

If you want a taste of what else is flying off the shelves, here’s what India’s digital diners savored in abundance in 2024: spicy mutton galouti kebabs in Lucknow, tandoori chicken wraps in Bengaluru, momos in Delhi NCR, and paneer butter masala in Mumbai. Still, none of these come close to the biryani order numbers — their share, even combined, can’t topple biryani’s lead. Fast food may tempt young crowds but just doesn’t evoke the sense of celebration or Dal-chawal comfort that biryani does.

Biryani brands are well aware of the chase. The new trend is “fusion biryanis,” like schezwan biryani (with spicy Indo-Chinese sauce), egg biryani with cheese, or “healthy” millet biryani. These aren’t just marketing — picky diners love having both tradition and modernity on the table. If you ever want to compare styles, order a trio of biryanis: traditional Hyderabadi, Kolkata mutton, and a fusion option. You’ll see the biryani universe is bigger (and tastier) than you think.