Pampore, Kashmir → Andheri East, Mumbai
Roughly half the "Kashmiri saffron" sold in India is cut with dyed corn silk, safflower or coloured gelatin. We sell two grades, both lab tested, and we show you how to check what arrives before you cook with it.
Drop a few threads in warm water. Ours takes ten to fifteen minutes to bloom into gold. Anything that turns the water red immediately has been dyed. Four more tests you can run at home →
What we sell
Every marketing word in this category — premium, royal, A++, super — describes nothing. The only distinction that changes what you get is how much of the flower's pale yellow style is still attached to the red stigma.
Grade A · Akbari
Red stigma only, with the yellow style cut away. Deeper colour per gram, stronger aroma, and what you want if the saffron is going into milk, a gift box, or anything where it is the point rather than an ingredient.
₹799 / 1 g
Mongra details
Grade B · Ambari
The whole filament — red stigma with the yellow style still attached. Genuinely Kashmiri, genuinely unadulterated, and about a third cheaper. The sensible choice for biryani, pulao and everyday cooking.
₹499 / 1 g
Lacha detailsFull side-by-side comparison, including what the yellow style actually costs you →
Why buy from us
Most listings say "A++ premium" and leave you guessing. We tell you whether you are buying Mongra or Lacha, because that is the only thing that changes what is in the jar.
Every batch is tested for crocin, picrocrocin and safranal — the three compounds ISO 3632 uses to grade saffron. The certificate for the current batch is on the site, not just mentioned in a paragraph.
Not a dropshipper with a Srinagar photo on the homepage. We grade and pack at Saki Vihar Road, Andheri East, which is why we can get saffron to you the same day.
The honest version
Kashmiri saffron received a Geographical Indication tag in 2020. It certifies origin — that the saffron was grown on the karewa plateaus of Pampore, Kishtwar or Budgam. It says nothing about grade, and nothing about whether a given jar has been cut with something cheaper after it left the farm.
So the GI tag is necessary and not sufficient. It is why we pair it with a batch test: origin from the tag, purity from the lab, and a water test you can run yourself in your own kitchen.
Where people start
The most common reason people buy Mongra — and the topic with the most bad information around it. What tradition says, what the evidence says, and why quantity matters.
Read the guideFive checks that need nothing but warm water, paper and your hands. Run them on ours. Run them on whatever is already in your kitchen.
Run the testsSaffron is ruined more often by overuse than by underuse. Quantities for kesar milk, biryani, kheer, and how to bloom threads properly.
See quantitiesNext step
Tell us what you're cooking or who it's for, and we'll tell you which one to buy — including when the cheaper one is the right answer.
