Thali costs fall as festival season closes

The cost of home-cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis (plates) fell sequentially in December, as demand waned following the end of the festival season.

- Puja Das

The price of a vegetarian thali fell 3% to 29.7 last month, while non-vegetarian thalis saw a 5% decline to ₹57.6, according to rating agency Crisil. Year-on-year, the cost of a vegetarian thali has risen, whereas a non-vegetarian thali has become cheaper.

A typical vegetarian thali includes roti, vegetables (onion, tomato, potato), rice, dal, curd and salad.

The non-vegetarian version has chicken (broiler) instead of dal.

Despite fluctuating commodity prices, the ingredient weightage in these thalis remains constant.

Crisil attributed the drop in the vegetarian thali's cost to a 14% and 3% decrease in onion and tomato prices, respectively, as festive demand waned.