At 10 pm on a Monday night—the 27th night of Ramadan 2026—the narrow lanes and bylanes of Zakir Nagar are buzzing with activity, as crowds spill out for late-night shopping and street food. Twinkling garlands, hanging fairy lights, and illuminated crescents adorned with rice lights hanging between buildings or wrapped around trees add to the festive ambience ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr later this week.
Mohammad Salman, a middle-aged worker at one of the many , is busy plating biryani as his staff serve customers seated inside the basement dining area.
“Bhai aaj dukaan kholi hai, cylinder ka jugaad kar liya itne din baad (I opened shop today after many days. I finally managed to get a LPG cylinder,” says Salman, who managed to source an LPG cylinder from a relative to run his eatery, which he says remained shut for several days in the middle of Ramadan—the peak business season for him and others like him.
The LPG cylinder crisis had hit the annual Ramadan business in Zakir Nagar this year. The ongoing war in the Middle East triggered hoarding and black marketing of commercial cylinders.
“We used to get a cylinder at about ₹1800 before the war in Iran began. Today they are selling it anywhere in between ₹3500 and ₹4000,” said Akeel Ahmad, who also runs a non-vegetarian eatery nearby.
While some shops were forced to shut, others cut back on non-vegetarian items on the menu. “Today we do not have korma on the menu. Maybe we will serve it close to Eid on Thursday or Friday,” said Israr, who works at a local shop which usually sells Biryani and other non-vegetarian cuisines.
Open Air Food Street
The night-long food street in Zakir Nagar and nearby Shaheen Bagh is a regular affair every Ramadan. Since most Muslims fast during the day, business usually happens in the night after sunset until sehri – the pre-dawn meal that devout Muslims have before beginning the fasting days.
The area transforms into an open-air food street during the fasting month. The market is often compared with Old Delhi (Jama Masjid) for having the best Ramzan food scene in the city, attracting people from all over Delhi.
Not just in Delhi, the LPG crisis has hit eateries across India in the last few weeks as the war in the Middle East rages on. While the menu options have been reduced in some places, others have increased the prices.
The crisis, partly linked to global energy supply disruptions and tensions in West Asia, has created a ripple effect on India’s informal food economy, impacting not only millions of people who depend on inexpensive street food for daily meals but also the income of hawkers and eateries.
In Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to review the stock position of essential commodities and petroleum products in the UT in view of the upcoming festivals of Eid and Navratras amid the prevailing geopolitical situation in West Asia. The Chief Minister emphasised that the administration must remain vigilant and proactive to ensure that no artificial scarcity, hoarding, or black marketing is allowed in any district.
1 in 2 consumers at restaurants have increased food prices
A Biryani plate that the shops would usually sell for ₹200 is available at anywhere between ₹230 and ₹250 in posh South Delhi areas like Saket. Even the cost of a Samosa has increased from ₹10 to ₹15 due to the ensuing LPG crisis.
“Either we shut shop or increase prices,” said Shahnawaz, who runs a Biryani shop ‘Avon Biryani’ in Saket.
Over 1 in 2 consumers surveyed say both street food vendors and restaurants have increased food prices in the last one week, a Local Circles survey said on 17 March. The survey said that at least 57% of consumers surveyed who visited restaurants or ordered food in the last week confirmed that they have significantly increased prices. As many as 54% of consumers surveyed who visited street food vendors in the last one week confirmed they have increased prices by up to 25%
“In some cases, restaurants have reportedly started adding ₹15 or more as ‘LPG revision fee’ to each bill to recover additional cooking fuel expenses,” the Local Circles survey said.
In cities facing severe shortages, eateries have also increased the prices of popular food items, as they are sometimes forced to buy LPG cylinders at higher rates or even from the black market. Since commercial establishments do not receive subsidised LPG like households, these higher costs are often passed on to customers through price hikes or surcharges, making eating out slightly more expensive, the survey said.
Not just in Delhi, issues across India
Some eateries have been forced to switch from gas to coal stoves. In Lucknow, for example, the famous Tunday Kababi in Aminabad has started using coal for cooking their renowned Galouti kebabs
As things stand, 19kg commercial cylinders are selling at nearly ₹4,000, forcing vendors to raise prices and leading to customer losses. Not just in Zakir Nagar and Shaheen Bagh, the shortage is impacting the entire food ecosystem, affecting vendors in areas such as Sadar Bazar and Connaught Place, according to multiple media reports
Business owners said the situation is not only affecting their daily earnings but also creating anxiety among workers who rely on these establishments for their livelihoods.
From neighbourhood cafes to roadside eateries, operators say the disruption has slowed or halted kitchen operations in several parts of the city, forcing some establishments to shut temporarily while others try to stretch the limited gas supplies they have left.
“We are trying to curtail the use of by rationalising and prioritising dishes that require less gas. Some food items are not being prepared because they consume too much fuel. We are also exploring alternative fuels like electricity and induction cooking,” Manpreet Singh, owner of the restaurants Zen, told Mint recently
Some prominent eateries that reported temporary closures are Boheme Cafe Bar in Karol Bagh and Kashmir Chur Chur Naan in Paharganj, according to reports.
When is Eid-ul-Fitr?
Eid is one of the two major festivals of Muslim, which marks the end of the month of fasting with Eid-ul-Fitr.
Ramadan usually lasts 29 to 30 days, and the celebrations culminate in Eid festivities on the first day of Shawal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar.
Eid-ul-Fitr is also called the “festival of breaking the fast.” This year, it is expected that India will celebrate Eid on 20 March, Friday, or 21 March, Saturday, depending on the appearance of the crescent the night before.