Soaring prices to make this year’s Onam feast a costly affair for Keralites

Stung by the exorbitant rise in the prices of essential items, including the skyrocketing price for coconut oil and raw coconut, the sumptuous Onam feast served on the banana leaf, consisting of a wide variety of dishes, will likely be a costly affair for Keralites this year. Setting the trend ahead of Onam, thousands of caterers engaged in the business of preparing the Onam feast have started taking bookings.

As per the price list of the All Kerala Caterers Association, the largest body of caterers with over 4,000 caterers across the State, the price of an average Onam feast with 23 dishes will be around ₹500 per person this year.

Speaking to The Hindu, Balan Kalyani, chief of Kalyani Catering and Events, said a bucket meal (also known as a box meal) for five persons, including 23 dishes and plantain leaf, is charged ₹2,500 this time, an increase of around ₹500 charged during the festive season of Vishu in April 2025. If there are bulk orders, the feast could be served in the range of ₹350-₹380 per head.

This is the average price of the Onam feast served by caterers. There are even hotels that started receiving bookings for Onam sadya at ₹999. There would be some minor changes in the menu of caterers depending on the wish list of customers. The rise in prices is mainly due to the skyrocketing price of essentials, especially coconut oil and raw coconut, said Mr. Kalyani.

According to Shahul Hameed, general secretary, All Kerala Caterers Association, raw coconut that was priced at ₹33 in the open market a year ago is now charged around ₹85, while coconut oil, which was priced around ₹210 per litre a year ago, is now charged over ₹500 per litre in the retail market. So is the case with the price of major ingredients, including the price of vegetables and other key ingredients such as parippu (tuvar dal).

Mr. Hameed said the price of vegetables would likely go over the roof ahead of Onam, and the State government must make necessary market interventions to arrest the rising price of essential commodities.

Ready-to-eat banquets

Meanwhile, there has been a steady increase in the number of Malayalis opting for ready-to-eat Onam feasts prepared by caterers. On average, a caterer receives at least 500 bookings. Altogether, registered caterers under the association serve nearly 15 lakh feasts during the festival.

But the actual size of the Onam feast industry would be two to three times this, considering the private caterers outside the association and hotels engaged in the business. Among the districts, Ernakulam and Thrissur lead, going by the number of bookings in the previous years, followed by Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

Caterers say that for a nuclear family, it is rather quite difficult to prepare dishes such as ‘erishery’, ‘pulissery’, ‘kaalan’, ‘olan’, ‘pachadi’, ‘kichadi’, ‘kootu curry’, and ‘avial’ together on the festival day. “So the size of the industry is growing each year, but a market intervention by the government is necessary to put the price of essentials under control,” they added.