According to National Public Radio, If you work in an office in India, lunch might travel through a complex network of kitchens, bicycle deliverymen and train stations before ending up on your desk. Dabba wallahs have been delivering meals for a century, but over the years, lunchbox fare has changed dramatically.
Every day in Mumbai, some 5,000 deliverymen called dabba wallahs hand deliver 200,000 hot meals to doorsteps across the city. It’s an intricate network that requires precise timing and numerous handoffs from courier to courier. The century-old service is a staple for the city’s office workers. (See how it works in this video.) But as the city has changed, so too has the service.
For decades, Indian workers have had their lunches delivered, but usually from home kitchens. The prices were cheap and the food was traditional Indian fare. But that’s changing.
“This is our main kitchen. … This guy is making the South Indian menu. He’s making a beetroot dosa … then the other guy’s making an egg white omelet over here,” says Nityanand Shetty, head chef at Calorie Care
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
