Wande is winter, and in Kashmir it is long. The passes close, the Dal ices at its margins, and a household lives through to spring on what was set aside in autumn — the finest ghee, the saffron, the honey held back from ordinary use.
Ghee from Badri cattle, a Himalayan hill breed that grazes at altitude and yields sparingly. Two grams of Mongra saffron. Wild floral honey and high-meadow chamomile. Cold-pressed almond oil, for the skin as much as the kitchen.
A collection assembled entirely from what restores.
