Traditional caterers for a pooja or family function in Bengaluru

Below ₹250. Sri Lakshmi Caterers' housewarming page says "from ₹150 per person". It lists prasadam, a morning tiffin, a full banana-leaf lunch served by its staff, and sweet boxes, without saying which of these ₹150 covers, so ask what you get for it. Families who wrote to us named ₹180 to ₹350 a plate for a meal. Or the family cooks, or brings in a cook. Our housewarming guide works out what a cook at home costs.

Breakfast costs less. Bhandary's Mahurtham breakfast is ₹200 a plate for idli, vada, upma, kesaribath and coffee, and ₹300 with masala dosa, poori and kashi halwa. Upendar lists a South Indian breakfast at ₹120 to ₹220 for 5 to 8 items. Authana counts each meal on its own, from 100 plates.

An Onam sadya is ₹420 to ₹560 a plate at Upendar, for 20 to 24 items on leaf. For Onam this year, Curly Tales listed restaurants delivering single sadya meals at ₹299 to ₹749.

For 50 guests, before tax, Diviskitchen's basic menu works out to ₹18,000 to ₹20,000 with her team, and Bhandary's ₹400 buffet to ₹22,000 with transport within 15 km of Adugodi. Bhandary's adds 5% GST, ₹1,100, to make ₹23,100. Diviskitchen adds taxes at a rate she hasn't given us, so which one ends higher depends on that rate.

Who they are. Divya left a job to be with her children and started cooking from her own kitchen; she learnt her first buffet on the job and keeps to 100 guests or fewer. Bhandary's Kitchen was started by M. Sudhir Bhandary, who trained in hotel management at Manipal and worked in resorts and hotels. Its founding aim was to cater to staff in software companies, and it now cooks weddings, home functions and corporate events. Bhandary's gives one price a plate. Diviskitchen splits the food from a flat charge for her team, setup and delivery.

What a longer menu adds at one caterer. Bhandary's Mahurtham banana-leaf lunch is ₹400 for 23 items and ₹600 for 28, plus 5% GST and transport; the ₹600 one adds a welcome drink and more choice in each course.

What a pure-veg kitchen adds. Authana Caterers cooks only veg, with a Brahmin cooking team, separate vessels and no onion or garlic for Brahmin events, and its price includes the leaves, service and cleaning. It's run by Amit Nayak and Priyanka Kamath, a Konkani Brahmin couple from Udupi, who take at most two functions a day. In Amit's words:

Cooked at your place, or brought. Upendar cooks on site with its own cooks, gas and vessels. Sukhdev preps in its own kitchen and keeps the food hot at your place on induction and hot-boxes, with no open flames. Before you book anyone who cooks at home, ask your society about gas cylinders, big vessels in the lift and cooks coming in before dawn.

For 10 to 15 people, try a cook at home or a hotel's party order. One Udupi hotel in Arekere takes party orders from 15 plates within 5 km, food only, with no plates or staff. Our housewarming guide works out what a cook at home costs.

What families ask. Who will cook, and do they cook in madi? Does the kitchen cook non-veg, and if so, does your food get its own vessels? No onion and garlic in everything, or only in the elders' food? Ask these before you pay, and ask for the answers in the quote.

Jain can cost a little more. Sukhdev Caterers adds ₹40 to ₹80 a plate for Jain or no onion no garlic menus made on separate lines.

Your community's menu. Authana cooks Udupi and Mangalore food; Bhandary's Kitchen, Karnataka banana-leaf meals; Diviskitchen, Tamil Brahmin housewarming and pooja menus; Hampi Caterings, Andhra and North Karnataka food. None of the caterers in this guide says it cooks Havyaka, GSB or Iyengar menus, so name the dishes you need when you ask. One family asking us for a vratham meal wrote that Andhra-style pulihora and garelu were a must.

Prices on muhurtham dates. Bhandary's own blog post on catering costs in Bangalore says rates jump 15% to 20% in the peak wedding months. Its own Mahurtham menus are the same price on weekends and muhurtham dates, it told our team, and Authana says the same of its prices. Ask whether your quote holds for your date.

Ask to see a function like yours. A photo or video of a full leaf at a real function shows the portions and how many dishes come. Authana's video in question 2 is the kind to ask for.

Ask how the food stays hot. If the pooja runs late, ask when the food will be cooked, who keeps it hot, and when they'll start serving.

Ask who to call on the day. Authana's owners say they usually go to each function themselves. With any caterer, get the name and number of the person in charge on the day, so you aren't the one chasing the food during the rituals.

Count by name. Start from the guests who said yes, add everyone else who'll eat, and book that number for each meal. Ask whether the caterer's own team eats from it.

If more people come. Before you book, ask what an extra plate costs on the day and whether they'll serve past the count. Bhandary's Kitchen bills the number you fixed when you paid its token, whoever comes.

Leftovers. Sukhdev packs them into food-grade containers for the family. Diviskitchen takes her vessels back, so keep big boxes ready.

Why some keep the advance. A caterer books its cooks and servers for your date. In Authana's words:

If a death in the family or a changed muhurtha could move the date, pick a caterer whose terms let you move it, and ask before you pay.