Diwali Mela Food Stalls in Melbourne: What to Serve and How Much to Order

Melbourne’s Diwali season is a run of outdoor melas. Williams Landing on Saturday 24 October. Fed Square, Docklands and Wyndham Vale all on Saturday 31 October. Dandenong on Sunday 1 November. Glen Huntly on Saturday 7 November. Every one of them has a row of food stalls, and for a lot of visitors the food is the main event.

If you are running one of those stalls, this guide is for you. It covers what sells, how much to order, how to handle frozen stock at an outdoor site, and what you need to register a food stall in Victoria.

Who this guide is for

• Food businesses and caterers with a stall booked at a Diwali festival or mela.
• Temple, school, cultural and community groups running a fundraising food stall, sometimes for the first time.
• Organisers running their own Diwali event who need food for volunteers, performers or guests.

If you are hosting Diwali at home or in the office instead, our Diwali catering guide covers quantities per guest and what to serve.

What sells at a Diwali mela

The best stall menus are short. Festival food needs to be held hot, served in seconds and eaten standing up, often with one hand. Three or four items done well will always beat ten items that run out one by one.

Samosas

The best seller at almost any Indian event, and the easiest item for a first-time stall. The Punjabi samosa, at around 80 grams each, is a filling serve on its own. The cocktail samosa, at around 20 grams, suits a plate of four or five. For value, the XL jumbo samosa is around 130 grams each.

To stand out from the stall next door, add a filling people do not see every day. The paneer tikka samosa and the cheese jalapeño samosa both draw curious visitors, including plenty who are new to Indian food.

Samosa chaat turns a samosa into a bigger plate at a higher price. Break two samosas into a bowl, spoon over warm pindi chole, then add yoghurt, tamarind and mint chutneys, chopped onion and a handful of sev.

Momos

Momos have become one of the most popular street foods at Indian events in Melbourne, especially with younger crowds, and they are quick to serve from a steamer or a fryer.

• Classic vegetable momos steam or pan-fry straight from frozen.
• Schezwan momos bring the heat, and come in a 40-piece family pack that suits stall volumes.
• Kurkure momos have a crunchy coating, are cooked by frying or baking, and also come in 40-piece packs.

Serve six to eight per plate with a red chilli chutney or Schezwan sauce. A stall offering both steamed and crunchy momos gives people a reason to come back for a second plate.

Chaat

Chaat is where a stall builds a queue. It is made to order, it looks good, and people watch it being assembled.

• Pani puri. Our pani puri shells come in 50 and 100 piece packs. Fill them with spiced potato and chickpeas, and serve the flavoured water from a jug or dispenser.
• Papdi chaat. Crisp papdi topped with potato, chickpeas, yoghurt and chutneys.
• Bhel. Bhel mix tossed with onion, tomato, coriander and chutney. Fast, light and cheap to serve.
• Aloo tikki chaat. Two aloo tikki topped with chole, yoghurt and chutneys.

Chaat needs hands. Plan on two people assembling at busy times, and prepare every topping before the gates open.

Vada pav, kachori and spring rolls

• Vada pav. Our bataka vada is the Mumbai-style potato fritter that goes into vada pav. Bring soft pav buns, green chutney and dry garlic chutney.
• Kachori. Khasta kachori are flaky, spiced and filling, and work on their own or as kachori chaat.
• Spring rolls. Veg spring rolls are the item children and first-time visitors reach for. Easy to fry in batches and easy to eat while walking.

Something sweet

A savoury stall should still have something sweet at the counter. It is the easiest add-on sale there is.

Warm gulab jamun, two to a cup, sells well on a cool evening. Loose ladoo work as a single-piece add-on. For visitors who want something to take home, a small gift box such as the Motichoor Ladoo Golden Window Box, with 12 motichoor ladoo, or the Crimson Boondi Ladoo Box, with 12 boondi ladoo, sits nicely beside the till.

Three simple stall menus

Stall	Menu
Small community or school stall, 2 to 4 volunteers	Samosas (two per plate), samosa chaat, gulab jamun
Street food stall	Steamed momos, kurkure momos, samosas, spring rolls
Chaat stall	Pani puri, papdi chaat, aloo tikki chaat, bhel

If this is your first stall, start with the first menu. Samosas and samosa chaat need only a fryer or oven, a pot of chole and a few chutneys, and the whole menu can be served by volunteers with no cooking experience.

How much to order

Do not plan from the festival’s attendance. Plan from how many plates your stall can actually serve.

A large festival may draw thousands of people, but one stall with one fryer and two people serving can only get through so many plates an hour. Estimate your plates per hour, multiply by your trading hours, then split that number across your menu.

For example, a stall serving 60 plates an hour across a six-hour afternoon and evening will serve around 360 plates.

Item	Per plate	For 100 plates	Packs at our listed sizes
Punjabi samosa, about 80 g	2	200	About 14 packs of 15
Cocktail samosa, about 20 g	4 to 5	400 to 500	6 to 8 packs of 70
Momos	6 to 8	600 to 800	15 to 20 packs of 40
Pani puri	6	600	6 packs of 100
Aloo tikki for chaat	2	200	About 12 packs of 18
Khasta kachori	1	100	About 10 kg, at roughly 10 pieces per kg

Pack sizes are as listed on our product pages and can change, so confirm them when you order. Add 10 to 15 percent for breakages, volunteer meals and a busier evening than you planned.

Mixed menus spread the load. If half your plates are momos and half are samosa chaat, you do not need the full quantity of both.

Handling frozen and chilled stock at an outdoor site

Many stall snacks, momos included, are bought frozen and cooked on the day. That makes them easy to plan, as long as the cold chain holds. Check the storage instructions on every pack when it arrives: frozen items stay frozen, and chilled items stay at 5°C or below.

Keep it frozen until you need it. Bring a portable freezer if the site has power, or pack eskies tightly with ice and keep them shut and in the shade. Bring stock to the cooking station in small batches through the day rather than all at once.

Cook from frozen. Our classic and Schezwan momos steam or pan-fry straight from frozen. For everything else, follow the heating instructions on each pack.

Do not refreeze. Anything that has thawed should be cooked and used on the day, not taken home and frozen again. Unopened stock that stayed frozen can go back in your freezer for the next event.

Hold hot food hot and cold food cold. Keep cooked food at 60°C or above and chilled toppings such as yoghurt and chutneys at 5°C or below. A probe thermometer on the counter costs very little and settles every question.

Check power and gas early. Many outdoor sites have limited power. Ask the organiser what is supplied before you choose between a fryer, a steamer and an oven, and what their rules are for gas bottles and fire extinguishers.

Plan for Melbourne weather. Late October and early November can be hot, cold and wet in the same afternoon. Shade for chilled items and a cover for the cooking area are worth having either way.

Registering a food stall in Victoria

Any stall selling food in Victoria, including one run by a community group or a charity, needs to register or notify the council before it trades.

• FoodTrader. Temporary and mobile food stalls register through FoodTrader, the statewide portal that replaced Streatrader. You register with the council where your food is prepared or stored.
• Statement of Trade. Once registered, lodge a Statement of Trade for each event you attend.
• Your class. Councils sort food stalls into classes by risk. Unpackaged hot food such as samosas, momos and chaat usually needs full registration rather than a simple notification, and higher-risk classes may need a food safety supervisor. Your council decides your class, so ask early.
• The organiser’s rules. Most festivals have their own stall deadlines, insurance requirements and site rules. Check these when you book.
• Training. The Victorian Department of Health’s free DoFoodSafely online course is a good start for every volunteer handling food.

This is general information. Your council’s environmental health team can tell you exactly what applies to your stall.

Ordering stall food from Amba Foods

We supply samosas, momos, chaat items, ready-to-heat snacks and sweets in bulk for Diwali festivals, temple and community events, and food businesses across Melbourne. Savoury and sweet can come on the same order.

Tell us your event date, your menu and roughly how many plates you expect to serve, and we will confirm what we can supply for your date. Send an enquiry through our food services page or our wholesale page, or call 1300 790 350. Existing trade customers can also order through our B2B portal.

Order early. For stalls at the events on Saturday 24 October, Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November, aim to order by Tuesday 20 October. The fortnight before Diwali on Sunday 8 November is the busiest of the year for every Indian food supplier in Melbourne.

Diwali festivals in Melbourne this season

Date	Event	Where
Saturday 24 October	Diwali and Moon Festival in the West	Williams Landing
Saturday 31 October	Victorian Festival of Diwali	Federation Square
Saturday 31 October	Melbourne Diwali Festival	Marvel Stadium Square, Docklands
Saturday 31 October	Wyndham Diwali	Presidents Park, Wyndham Vale
Sunday 1 November	Diwali Festival	Dandenong Park
Saturday 7 November	Diwali Festival of Lights	Booran Reserve, Glen Huntly

Stall applications for the larger festivals usually close well before the day, so if you have not booked a spot, contact the organiser directly. Our guide to Diwali in Melbourne 2026 has more on each event, along with the smaller melas and markets.

Frequently asked questions

What food sells best at a Diwali mela? Samosas are the most reliable seller at almost any Indian event, followed by momos, chaat such as pani puri, papdi chaat and samosa chaat, vada pav and spring rolls. A small sweet such as gulab jamun or ladoo works well as an add-on at the counter.

How many samosas do I need for a food stall? Plan from the plates your stall can serve, not the festival’s attendance. At two full-size samosas per plate, 100 plates needs around 200 samosas. At four to five cocktail samosas per plate, 100 plates needs 400 to 500. Add 10 to 15 percent for breakages and a busy evening.

Can I buy momos in bulk in Melbourne? Yes. Amba Foods supplies vegetable momos, including classic, Schezwan and crunchy kurkure momos, with 40-piece packs that suit stall and event volumes. Send a wholesale enquiry or call 1300 790 350.

Do I need a permit to sell food at a Diwali event in Victoria? Yes. Food stalls in Victoria, including those run by community groups and charities, must register or notify through FoodTrader, the statewide portal that replaced Streatrader, and lodge a Statement of Trade for each event. Your council decides which class your stall falls into and what that requires.

How do I keep frozen snacks like momos at an outdoor event? Use a portable freezer if the site has power, or eskies packed tightly with ice and kept in the shade. Bring stock to the cooking station in small batches, cook from frozen following the pack instructions, and do not refreeze anything that has thawed.

When should I order stall food for Diwali 2026? For Melbourne festivals on 24 October, 31 October and 1 November, aim to order by Tuesday 20 October. The fortnight before Diwali on Sunday 8 November is the busiest time of the year for Indian food suppliers.