- Indians “craved the most for Biryani” during the lockdown said The “StatEATistics report: The Quarantine Edition”
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown saw several people turning chefs overnight, but those who could not turn to online delivery of food. And not just any food, as per a new survey, Indians “craved the most for Biryani” during the lockdown. The “StatEATistics report: The Quarantine Edition” from the food delivery platform Swiggy found that Indians ordered biryani over “5.5 lakh times” from their favorite restaurants.
The new normal might have opened a pandora’s box of behavioral changes, but some old habits die hard like the love for Biryani, which took the top spot for overall orders. It was followed by butter naan and masala dosa at 3,35,185 and 3,31,423, respectively.
Biryani has topped the list of most ordered dishes for the fourth year in a row, the food delivery platform noted.
Indians didn’t forget to indulge their sweet tooth in the uncertain months of lockdown. Their favorite comfort food during the lockdown period was the moist and decadent Choco Lava cake, ordered around 1,29,000 times.
“The humble Gulab Jamun (84,558) and chic Butterscotch Mousse cake (27,317) followed suit,” said the study derived from Swiggy ‘s order review in the past few months through cities that it is present in.
Also, as birthday parties moved to video calls, and virtual cake cutting sessions, according to the food delivery platform, it delivered nearly “1,20,000 cakes” to complete these celebrations.
According to the report, on average, “65,000 meal orders” were placed by 8 pm each day to make sure food arrived in time for dinner.
“It was the busiest hour for Swiggy delivery partners and restaurants. On average, they (customers) decided to tip Rs.23.65, with one especially generous customer tipping Rs. 2500!” it added.
For those who only relied on home-made food during the quarantine, Swiggy supplied a whooping 323 million kgs of onions and 56 million kgs of bananas through its grocery section and thus ensured that its customers were all stocked up.
That said, it also took care of the ‘quick-fix meal’ tribe — consumers who resort to the evergreen college hacks of living on instant noodles.
“Around 3,50,000 packets of this ideal easy to cook meal were ordered during the lockdown,” it said.
In all, Swiggy delivered 40 million orders across food, groceries, medicines, and other household items during India’s lockdowns. It also delivered over 73,000 bottles of sanitizers and hand wash along with 47,000 face masks as the definition of ‘essentials’ changed during these uncertain times.
