The cost of home-cooked meals increased moderately in August 2026, with higher onion, cooking oil and LPG prices pushing up vegetarian thali costs, while expensive broiler chicken lifted non-vegetarian meal costs.
The cost of preparing a vegetarian meal at home increased 1% both year-on-year and month-on-month to ₹29.5 per thali in August, according to the latest “Roti Rice Rate” report by Crisil Intelligence.
Non-vegetarian meals saw a sharper annual increase. The cost of a non-vegetarian thali rose 5% year-on-year to ₹57.5, primarily because of a 10% increase in broiler chicken prices. However, the cost was 1% lower compared with ₹58.3 per thali in July.
Higher prices of onions, vegetable oil, rice and liquefied petroleum gas kept household meal costs elevated compared with the previous year, even as cheaper potatoes and tomatoes provided some relief.
Onion prices recorded one of the steepest increases, rising 43% year-on-year to ₹40 per kg in August from ₹28 per kg a year earlier. Crisil attributed the increase to supply constraints following unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms in Maharashtra during March and April.
Vegetable oil prices were 11% higher compared with the previous year, while LPG prices increased 10%. These increases added to the overall cost of preparing meals at home.
The impact was partly offset by lower prices for other key vegetables. Potato prices declined 12% from a year earlier, while tomato prices fell 28%, helping contain the overall increase in vegetarian and non-vegetarian thali costs.
On a month-on-month basis, onion prices increased 17% in August. However, tomato prices declined 7%, limiting the overall impact on household food expenses.
Crisil Intelligence Director Pushan Sharma said onion prices are expected to remain firm over the next two to three months because of tight supplies from the rabi crop and delayed arrivals of the kharif crop.
Broiler prices, meanwhile, declined 4% from July as demand weakened during the Hindu holy month of Shravan. The decline helped bring the non-vegetarian thali cost down 1% on a monthly basis despite its higher year-on-year level.
The latest figures highlight how changes in vegetable, cooking oil, LPG and poultry prices continue to influence everyday household food expenses, even when price movements across individual ingredients vary significantly.
