Chandigarh, Jan 1: Indians rang in 2026 with their favourite dish: biryani. Swiggy recorded 1,336 biryani orders per minute before 8 p.m., with 2,18,993 units delivered by 7:30 p.m., including a 16-kilo single order from a Bhubaneswar party host.
The one-pot dish has a long-standing fanbase. Swiggy reported 93 million biryanis ordered in 2025, averaging 3.25 orders every second, reflecting the country’s enduring appetite for the classic recipe.
Pizza and burgers were nearly neck-and-neck in popularity. By 8:30 p.m., 2.18 lakh pizzas had been delivered, edging out 2.16 lakh burgers, showing the diversity of India’s New Year’s Eve menu.
Desserts joined the celebrations later in the evening. Rasmalai, gulab jamun and gajar halwa emerged as the most popular sweets around 10:30 p.m.
Individual ordering feats made headlines too. A Bengaluru customer placed 100 burgers in a single order, while a Goa-based user ordered 39 portions of kebabs and tikkas. Gurugram saw a single order for 18 brownies and 18 plum cakes, Nagpur had a customer placing more than 93 orders during the day, and in Surat, one food lover ordered from 22 different restaurants on December 31 alone.
The numbers underscore how, even amid a growing range of options, biryani remains India’s go-to dish for festive celebrations, while pizzas, burgers and sweets continue to keep the competition alive.
