The Hindu Lit For Life 2026 | Everything you need to know about the festival’s food line-up

Navigating a literature festival demands physical and intellectual stamina, with hours of listening, taking notes, wandering, and waiting. While curiosity around conversations across various sessions energises the mind, it is food that carries the visitors through the day.

At the 14th edition of The Hindu Lit for Life this year, the food cravings are met with unusual attentiveness, while keeping the predictable rhythms of the festival in mind. “So, this year is different from what we did last year,” says Shabnam Banu, who helped curate the festival’s food line-up.

Sashwata cafe’s idli
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“We wanted something fun, unique but also quick and easy this time. What we kept in mind was picking food that’s comfortable for people to eat on the go, whether you are taking a break between sessions, or on the run between the three spaces,” Shabnam explains. The result is a compact line-up of nine stalls, shaped around portability and ease.

Pumpkin Tales, anchors the spread with offerings designed to travel well. “We’re doing kueh boxes, breads, focaccia sandwiches, burrito rolls, nasi goreng and more for the kiosk. For the author’s lounge, we have jackfruit rendang, Mee goreng and of course, a classic Chennai biryani. Panellists can also build their own nasi lemak like they do traditionally in Singapore,” says Chindi Varadarajulu, chef and founder, Pumpkin Tales.

Ciclo cafe’s ice cream
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

When you are at the stalls, keep an eye open for her kueh boxes. These are filled with traditional bite-sized snacks, cakes, and pastries popular in Southeast Asia. “It’s very nostalgic for me, growing up in Singapore. It’s small and easy to eat,” she says.

Coffee, a non-negotiable at any literary festival, has been treated with similar pragmatism. Beachville Coffee Roasters, will be offering coffee at a more accessible price point. Try the iced rose latte, and don’t miss their warm Nutella mocha. Of course, they also have a Lit fest Madras coffee on offer.

Comfort food is part of the spread. NSK Catering will serve their Tirunelveli-style biryani, once only available at weddings along with raitha, brinjal thoku and bread sweet. Keeping with tradition, you can pair it with chicken 65, or chicken pakodas.

To ensure that everyone who visits the festival gets a good dosa, Sashwatha Café, which is vegetarian, is on board. They will be offering rava idli, benne dosas, sambar vada, rasam vada, and bisi bele bath. North Indian chaat and chole bhature come via Oye Hoye, while Amdavadi brings a Gujarati spread that includes dhokla, khandvi, kachori, thepla, sabudana vada, gajar halwa, and shrikhand. Tibbs Frankie returns this year with their signature rolls.

NSK Biryani
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

One of the more unexpected additions is Kai From The Sea, a seafood restaurant from the ECR. Their menu includes prawn cutlet sandwiches, fish kebabs, prawn popcorn and prawn pulao. Ciclo Café will be scooping up ice creams in eight flavours including cookie dough, black sesame and orange. They are also serving cold sandwiches, Mediterranean bowls and tiramisu. Instagrammers, we have Korean cheese buns. And if you want to dissect a session with your friends, they have cold coffee and hot chocolate to fuel you.

Published – January 16, 2026 07:45 pm IST