Street Food: India's Most Beloved and Risky Culinary Tradition
Lola Radix - April 10, 2026
Indian cuisine is one of the world's richest and varied
(Raikar 2024). From the Daal-Baati in Rajasthan to the fish curry in Kerala,
Indian cuisine is directly influenced by social identity, religion and other
cultural and geographical factors (Raikar 2024). And nowhere is this more vivid
than on the streets!
A street food vendor selling
parantha and sabzi (photograph by Lola Radix)
Street food in India is not a recent phenomenon. Defined as
food “that is cooked and cold in public spaces, usually outdoors, to be eaten
immediately” (Cambridge Dictionary 2026), it is a deep -rooted tradition in
India, with traces back to the Mauryan Empire (circa. 300 BCE) (Schaus 2025).
Nowadays, for billions of people, it is both a vital source of affordable
nutrition and an everyday economic activity.
Culture and community
Approximately 2.5 billion people worldwide consume street
food daily
(Beniwal and Mogra 2023). According to a report of a study conducted on street
foods across three Indian cities, all consumers, whether regular or occasional,
believed that street foods are a necessity in their lifestyle (Kashyap (n.d.)).
Taste is
the immediate draw. Samosa, masala dosa, pani puri, kathi rolls: what these
dishes share is a richness of fat content that science directly links to
pleasure. High-fat preparations trigger dopamine release, generating the sense
of happiness and satisfaction that keeps consumers coming back for more (Carlin
2015). It is no surprise that nearly 90% of boys and girls agreed that they buy
street food because they are enthusiastic about trying out new dishes according
to a survey (Beniwal and Mogra 2023).
Beyond
flavour, street food is a social infrastructure. People from very different
backgrounds share the same culinary experience: from businessman, labourers on
daily wages, to students and tourists (Kashyap (n.d.)). That democratic
equality makes street food deeply symbolic of Indian society.
Finally,
there is the question of price. Street food costs only a fraction of a
restaurant meal, making it accessible to the youngest and poorest consumers.
Its speed preparation also makes it convenient for consumers having a busy
lifestyle.
Economy
Long
overlooked, street food vendors make a considerable contribution to India’s
economy. In Calcutta alone, the street food trade has been estimated at US$60
million a year (Chakravarty and Canet 2026), a figure that illustrates how
significant this informal sector truly is.
Moreover,
street vending is one of India’s most important informal employment channels.
It requires
little start-up capital, minimal formal qualifications (Kashyap (n.d.)), and can be
operated flexibly, allowing migrants, displaced workers and women to earn an
income (Campbell 2025).
In Southeast Asia more broadly, “the average earnings of a
vendor may be three to ten times more than the minimum wage”, making it very
attractive for workers with limited formal skills.
The dark side of
street food
That same accessibility that makes street food
so valuable also makes it vulnerable. Hygiene standards across vendors are very
inconsistent, partly because many vendors come from low-education backgrounds
and may lack awareness of food safety requirements. Studies reveal that while
58% of vendors used a cleaning agent to wash the food serving area, 29% used
water only and 13% used a dry cloth (Parida et al. 2025).
Concerns extend beyond cleanliness to the
quality of ingredients themselves. In Hapur, food safety officials recently
discovered that one tomato sauce was not made from tomatoes at all, and
contained synthetic colours, chemicals and acidic substances (Aanchal 2026).
And the consequences of such failures are very
serious. An estimated 2 million people die every year as a result of consuming
unsafe food (Beniwal and Mogra 2023). And the communities most exposed to this
risk are precisely the low-income urban populations that depend on street food
most.
A further issue is one of space. Street
vendors in India are occupying pavements, alleyways and, at times, the road
itself. Beyond the obvious safety hazards this creates for vendors and others,
it contributes significantly to urban congestion.
Initiatives and Regulation
Authorities
have come to realize that street foods are not going away. Hence, it is in
everyone’s interest to ensure it is produced under hygienic and sanitary
conditions, both to protect public health and to support economic growth and
tourism.
A
landmark step in this direction is the Food Safety and Standard Authority of
India’s (FSSAI) Project Clean Street Food. This initiative addresses the safety
gap while protecting vendors’ livelihoods by offering them training and
capacity building (FSSAI n.d.). Vendors who complete the programme receive a
certificate of excellence from the authority, boosting their credibility and
making them more appealing to consumers (FSSAI n.d.).
Yet
significant obstacles remain. Due to inconsistent enforcement, the majority of
street food vendors still operate in decentralized and informal settings, with
limited knowledge of hygienic norms (Debbarma et al. 2025). As India’s
population continue to grow rapidly (Worldometer 2025), embedding food safety
into street food culture must become a genuine pillar of public health policy.
Finally, the question of where vendors set up
is, just as pressing as the question of what they serve. Authorities must take
responsibility for the physical conditions in which vendors work, by providing
access to clean water, handwashing facilities and designated vending spaces.
This would both reduce traffic and safety hazards.
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