Before dawn, on the plains near Jamnagar in Gujarat's Saurashtra region, there is a small and precise window of time.
The crocus flowers, Crocus sativus, the saffron crocus, bloom and close within a single day. They must be harvested before the sun rises fully, while the flower is still partially closed, to protect the three crimson stigmas inside. Each flower yields three. It takes approximately 75,000 flowers to produce 500 grams of saffron. The work is done by hand. It has always been done by hand. There is no machine that can replicate the precision of fingers that know what they are doing.
This is kesar and it is, without any exaggeration, one of the most remarkable things Gujarat produces. The variety grown in the Aabol region near Jamnagar competes with Kashmiri and Iranian saffron for depth of colour and length of fragrance. Most people outside the Gujarati community have never heard of it. This is one of the small injustices we intend to correct, one summer menu at a time, across all six of our restaurants in Norwich, Cambridge, London, Twickenham, and Oxford.
What is kesar and how is it used in Gujarati cooking?
Saffron does not arrive in a Gujarati kitchen as a luxury ingredient deployed sparingly for occasions. It is, in the summer months especially, a presence. In the milk offered as prasad on festival mornings. In the shrikhand that ends a thali. In the kesar rice that is sometimes the most beautiful thing on an otherwise earthy table.
Urmila uses kesar the way her family always has: as a flavour that belongs here, not as a garnish that signals expense. Kesar used with confidence, bloomed in warm milk and added at the right moment, produces something golden, floral, and specific to itself. Kesar used nervously, in too-small amounts at the wrong stage, produces something that is merely yellow. Urmila is not nervous about kesar.
What is the Kesar Mango and what makes it special?
The Kesar Mango, known as Gir Kesar and grown near the Gir forest, the protected habitat of the Asiatic lion, arrives in late May and June. It is not the fibrous mangoes that reach British supermarkets. It is small, golden, intensely sweet, and carries a saffron note at the finish that makes you understand why it is named for a spice. On a summer thali, a small preparation of Gir Kesar mango is not a garnish. It is the announcement that the season has arrived.
Our summer seasonal menu is available now
The Summer Solstice on 21 June is when our summer menu launches across all six Namaste Village locations. Kesar is the thread running through it: in the shrikhand, cold and cardamom-laced; in the rice, fragrant and pale gold; in the lassi, where it sits on the surface like a small promise of warmth.
The longest day deserves the fullest table. Come and let us show you what a Gujarati kitchen does with the best of the season. Ask the team about the kesar specials when you arrive in Norwich, Cambridge, London Islington, Twickenham, or Oxford.
Book your summer table at Namaste Village. The seasonal menu launches on the solstice, 21 June, and runs through August across all six locations.
We’ll have a table ready.
Book a Table