Start hereOne gram, and a glass of warm water
Nobody should spend four thousand rupees on saffron they have not seen behave. Buy the smallest vial, drop the threads in, and watch what the water does.
See the saffronSeven days · 9am – 8pmThune · Kangan–Sonamarg road
Almonds, walnuts,saffron, gucchi.Kangan, Kashmir.
Seven days · 9am – 8pmThune · Kangan–Sonamarg road
Almonds, walnuts,saffron, gucchi.Kangan, Kashmir.
Bought in season from growers we know by name. Nothing bleached, waxed, oiled or coloured.Every kilo bought from growers in Ganderbal and the Sindh valley in the weeks it comes off the tree — almonds, walnuts, saffron, morels, figs and honey. Nothing bleached, waxed, oiled or coloured.
On at the shop
Start hereGrown here, not imported
Nothing added, nothing polished
Today's rate, not last year's
Shipped across India and abroad
The counter
See all of itKnow what you came for?
Everything the shop actually stocks, in eight. Tap the one you want and the rest gets out of the way.
- SaffronMongra grade, pure stigma
Nuts & kernelsWalnut, almond, pecan, macadamia
Dried fruitApricot, fig, raisin, berry, kiwi
HoneyAcacia, saffron, alfalfa, with nuts
Gucchi morelsWild, never farmed. April to May
Kashmiri kitchenRed chilli, shahi zeera, masala tikki
WellnessShilajit, seabuckthorn, oils
Gift boxesMade up and sealed the day they ship
Start here
Nobody walks in wanting nuts
They walk in with a reason. Tell us yours and we will put four things on the counter.
Small packs. Run the tests on this page before you spend properly.
Shop
See everythingIn stock right now
Bought once a year from growers in Ganderbal and the Sindh valley, in the weeks it comes off the tree.
Dispatched in 48 hours · free delivery on larger orders
photo placeholderThe vial, straight onBare glass, steel cap, one vertical highlight.1 : 1
Mongra Saffron
Kesar / Zafran
Only the deep-red stigma tips. No yellow style, which is how weight gets padded cheaply.
Rate on the day
photo placeholderA sculptural stack of kernel halvesLow three-quarter on seamless bone. Amber tones stay uneven.1 : 1
Walnut Kernels
Akhrot giri
Cracked by hand, never bleached. Amber kernel, not the pale white you see in shops.
Rate on the day
photo placeholderClear jar, nuts suspended, shilajit seamStraight on, backlit so the honey glows.1 : 1
Desi Diet
Shahad, mewa aur shilajit
Almonds, walnuts and cashews set whole in raw honey, with saffron threads and a ribbon of shilajit.
1 kg
Rate on the day
photo placeholderAmber honey, crimson threads suspendedStraight on, lit from behind.1 : 1
Saffron Honey
Kesar shahad
Raw honey with Mongra threads steeped in it, so the gold comes out slowly.
Rate on the day
photo placeholderMixed disc, five singles in a row beside itOverhead, even distribution.1 : 1
Diet Mix
Mix mewa
Almonds, cashews, walnut halves, raisins and pistachios, mixed even so no one kind runs out first.
Rate on the day
photo placeholderA row of whole chillies, one laid apartOverhead, stems aligned.1 : 1
Kashmiri Red Chilli
Kashmiri lal mirch
Deep red and barely hot. Bought for the colour it gives, not the burn.
Rate on the day
photo placeholderDeep crimson two-tier box, saffron vial centredOverhead. Generous but geometrically disciplined.1 : 1
The Wedding Box
Shaadi ka tohfa
Five items including saffron. What most people order for weddings.
One box
Rate on the day
photo placeholderFive walnuts in a precise row, one splitSeamless bone, equal gaps. The thin shell is the subject.1 : 1
Walnuts in Shell
Akhrot
Thin-shelled enough to crack in your hand. Keeps far longer than shelled kernel.
Rate on the day
Before you buy from anyone
How to tell if it's actually real
Saffron is the most adulterated spice in the world, and most “Kashmiri” walnuts in Indian shops are imported. These are the tests we would want our own family to use — on us as much as on anyone else.
Warm water, side by side
0 min
Real saffron
Gold arrives slowly. Threads stay deep red.
Dyed fake
Colours the water at once. Threads turn pale.
Do this with any saffron before you buy it in quantity — including ours. It takes fifteen minutes and settles the question completely.
How: Drop a few threads into warm — not boiling — water and leave it. Watch the water, and watch the threads.
Real
Real saffron releases its colour slowly. After fifteen minutes the water is golden-yellow, and the threads are still deep red — they do not lose their own colour.
Fake
Dyed corn silk or safflower colours the water almost instantly, often orange or reddish, and the threads turn pale as the dye leaves them.
How: Wet your fingertips, take one thread, and rub firmly for a few seconds.
Real
Rub a thread between wet fingers. Real saffron stains your skin yellow, never red.
Fake
If your fingers come away red or orange, that is dye. Real saffron's own colour stays in the thread.
How: Smell it first, then put one thread on your tongue.
Real
Sweet and hay-like to smell, but distinctly bitter on the tongue. That contradiction is the signature.
Fake
Sweet-tasting saffron has been sweetened or is not saffron. Anything that tastes of nothing is dyed filler.
How: Look at the kernel colour in daylight, and try cracking one shell by hand.
Real
Kashmiri kernel is amber to light brown, with a thin shell you can crack in your hand. Taste is sweet with only a slight bitterness at the skin.
Fake
Bright, uniformly pale kernel has been sulphur-bleached. A thick shell needing a nutcracker usually means imported stock.
How: Just look at the colour.
Real
Naturally dried apricots go brown. Every single one, without exception.
Fake
Bright orange apricots have been treated with sulphur dioxide to hold the colour. Common, legal, and worth knowing about.
The year
What is being picked, and when
We buy once a year, in season. That means some things are simply not available for most of the year — Gucchi in particular is gone within weeks of the snow melting.
Mar
- Gucchi begins
Apr
- Gucchi
May
- Gucchi ends
Jun
- —
Jul
- Apricots
Aug
- Apricots
- Almonds
- Figs
Sep
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Figs
- Raisins
Oct
- Raisins
- Saffron begins
Nov
- Saffron
Dec
- —
Jan
- —
Feb
- —
Highlighted months are peak harvest.
Where we are
Kangan is the last town before the mountains
The shop sits on the Kangan–Sonamarg road in Thune, about forty kilometres out of Srinagar. Everyone driving up to Sonamarg passes it. Behind the town the Sindh valley climbs toward the treeline, and the walnut and almond trees on those slopes are what we sell.
We buy from growers we know by name, in the weeks the fruit actually comes off the tree, and we do not buy again for the rest of the year. That is why some things sell out — Gucchi always does, usually within a month of the snow going.
Nothing here is bleached, waxed, oiled, sulphured or coloured. Some of it looks less pretty than what you find in a city shop. That is the point.
Mohd Gayas Lone has run the shop since 2024, on one rule: the quality that leaves here is the quality he would keep for his own house.
photo placeholderThe valley from above, orchard rows as a gridAerial, cold clear winter light. Graphic, not scenic.4 : 5
photo placeholderThe shop as a modern boutique interiorMicro-cement, oak shelf, glass canisters, peaks through a glass wall.3 : 2
Quantity
The rate drops with the number
I am buying for , roughly , needed .
Send that and get a rateOpens WhatsApp with the sentence already written. Trays for a wedding, boxes for an office, sacks for a counter of your own — we would rather quote you properly than post a price that suits nobody.
Questions
Things people ask us
Yes — anywhere in India, and abroad too. Orders are vacuum-sealed and dispatched within one to two days, and reach most Indian addresses in five to eight working days. Delivery is charged at cost and is free on larger orders — we tell you the exact amount along with the rate. For an address outside India, message us first and we will quote the shipping.
UPI, bank transfer, or cash on delivery. Pay by UPI straight from the checkout page, or message us on WhatsApp and we will send bank details. Card machines work at the shop counter.
Because dry fruit is a crop, not a manufactured good. The rate moves with the season, the harvest and the quantity you take, and a number printed in October is wrong by March. Put what you want on the list, send it, and we will reply with today’s rate — usually within the hour. Nothing is charged until you agree to it.
Because a lot of what is sold online is not saffron, or is padded with the yellow style of the flower, which has no flavour and adds weight cheaply. Use the water test on this page before you buy from anyone, including us.
Bright orange apricots have been treated with sulphur dioxide to preserve the colour. Ours are dried in the sun with nothing added, so they turn brown. The taste is stronger and the colour is honest.
No. Morels appear for a few weeks after the snow melts, usually April, and cannot be farmed. When the season's stock is gone we do not restock until the following spring.
Yes, please do. We are on the main Kangan–Sonamarg road at Thune, open daily. If you are driving to Sonamarg you will pass us — stop and taste before buying anything.
Yes, and the rate drops for quantity. Wedding boxes and bulk supply are a large part of what we do. Message us with what you need and we will quote.
Come and taste first
We're on the main road to Sonamarg
If you are driving up to Sonamarg you will pass the shop. Stop, taste everything, and only then buy something. That is how we would prefer you did it.
- Address
- Thune, Kangan–Sonamarg Road, Thune 191202, Ganderbal, Jammu & Kashmir
- Open
- Open all seven days, 9am – 8pm
- Call or WhatsApp
- +91 70062 79765 · +91 60051 16998
Open all seven days, 9am – 8pm. Orders placed on WhatsApp are confirmed the same day.