Today's feature article in Wikipedia is on Saffron, or kesavaram केसवरम. Saffron is derived from the stigma of the saffron crocus. It's fitting that today's article is on Saffron, as the crocus is a harbinger of spring.
In India, saffron is a specialty of Kashmir:
Theories explaining saffron's arrival in South Asia conflict. Traditional Kashmiri and Chinese accounts date its arrival anywhere between 900–2500 years ago. Meanwhile, historians studying ancient Persian records date the arrival to sometime prior to 500 BC, attributing it to either Persian transplantation of saffron corms to stock new gardens and parks or to a Persian invasion and colonization of Kashmir. Phoenicians then marketed Kashmiri saffron as a dye and a treatment for melancholy.[26] From there, saffron use in foods and dyes spread throughout South Asia. For example, Buddhist monks in India adopted saffron-coloured robes after the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama's death.
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... Another premium saffron is the Kashmiri "Mongra" or "Lacha" saffron (Crocus sativus 'Cashmirianus'), which is among the most difficult and expensive for non-Indian consumers to obtain. It is even hard for Indian consumers to obtain, as most stores in India sell the cheaper Spanish saffron. This is due to repeated droughts, blights, and crop failures in Kashmir, combined with an Indian export ban. Kashmiri saffron is recognisable by its extremely dark maroon-purple hue, among the world's darkest, which suggests the saffron's strong flavour, aroma, and colourative effect.
The saffron crocus
