India’s thali got cheaper in October as onion, pulse prices plunged; will the trend hold in November?

“Broilers account for nearly half of the thali cost. Lower vegetable and pulse prices helped bring down the overall price,” Crisil noted.

India’s dinner table just got lighter on the wallet. The cost of home-cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis dropped sharply in October,  down 17 percent and 12 percent year-on-year, respectively, according to ANI, citing Crisil Market Intelligence & Analytics’ Roti Rice Rate (RRR) report.

The steep decline, the report says, was largely driven by the crash in prices of onions, potatoes, and pulses, even as edible oil and LPG costs prevented a deeper fall.

What’s behind cheaper thalis

The biggest relief came from vegetables. Onion prices nosedived 51 percent from a year earlier as traders rushed to clear old rabi stock ahead of fresh kharif arrivals in November, while exports stayed subdued. Tomatoes too dropped 40 percent due to steady supplies from western and southern India, and potato prices fell 31 percent thanks to improved rabi production.

Pulses, another key component in most Indian plates, became 17 percent cheaper, with imports of Bengal gram rising nine-fold last fiscal and yellow pea and black gram imports up 85 percent and 31 percent, respectively.

“Traders have been offloading rabi season stocks in anticipation of fresh arrivals,” the report said, noting how higher supply across categories helped cool thali inflation.

Why prices didn’t fall further

Not every ingredient eased. According to the ANI, citing the report, edible oil prices rose 11 percent year-on-year amid strong festive season demand, while LPG cylinder prices were up 6 percent, both offsetting some of the savings from cheaper vegetables and pulses.

As a result, even though the vegetarian thali became significantly cheaper year-on-year, the fall was only 1 percent month-on-month. Non-vegetarian thalis saw a 3 percent decline from September levels, aided by a 4 percent drop in broiler chicken prices amid oversupply.

“Broilers account for nearly half of the thali cost. Lower vegetable and pulse prices helped bring down the overall price,” Crisil noted.

Inflation picture adds to the relief

The moderation in thali costs coincides with India’s broader inflation cooling. Headline retail inflation in September 2025 eased to 1.54 percent, the lowest since June 2017, helped by lower food, fuel, and edible oil prices.

According to official data, the decline in both headline and food inflation was driven by favourable base effects and lower prices of vegetables, cereals, pulses, fruits, eggs, and fuels.

Retail inflation data for October, due later this week, will show whether the thali trend continues into the festive quarter, and if falling food prices can sustain India’s disinflation streak.