Recipes with saffron to celebrate its harvest season

I have been on a digital clean-up these past few days, which means wading through 35,000-plus photos on my phone and deleting everything that does not spark joy. What did spark joy were the photos from my August trip to Kashmir. October-November marks the saffron harvest season, a time when the valley’s landscape transforms into a painter’s dream. Each bloom offers three red stigmas—nature’s rarest gift and the world’s costliest spice.

I would have loved for my first trip to Kashmir to coincide with the tulip, saffron or apple harvests, but nature’s bounty is fleeting.

Isn’t it curious that thousands of years ago, someone had the idea to use the red stigmas of a flower to flavour food? It’s not the first thought that crosses your mind when you look at a beautiful bloom. Yet, those ancient pioneers saw saffron’s potential as a spice, a dye and a medicine—making it one of the most prized culinary ingredients in human history.

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Saffron, beyond being a feast for the eyes, has a history as rich and layered as the spice itself.

Dating back over three millennia, saffron was first cultivated in ancient Persia, where it was treasured not only for its culinary appeal but also for its medicinal properties. Ancient healers believed in saffron’s ability to uplift the mood and heal the body. It found its way into rice dishes, stews, and desserts, offering not just flavour but the promise of well-being.

Cooking with the world’s most expensive spice requires a gentle touch. Lightly roast the strands on a low flame, crush them to a powder or use high-quality saffron powder. Sprinkle this over an ice cube in a bowl. Watching the ice cube slowly melt around the roasted saffron, releasing its vibrant yellow hue and unmistakable sweet aroma, feels like a royal ceremony.

From biryanis to kesar pista ice cream—my mom’s favourite flavour—this spice brings joy and indulgence in equal measure. A pinch of it in sweets like kheer or shrikhand elevates them to something otherworldly.

But saffron doesn’t just shine in Indian dishes. Spanish cuisine also pays homage to this spice, most notably in paella, where it’s responsible for the signature golden hue of the rice. However, the Indian in me believes saffron finds its truest expression in our desserts. The way it combines with milk and sugar creates a richness that’s exotic yet familiar.

Despite its culinary legacy, it’s often marketed as a beauty ingredient in fairness-obsessed India. Creams and soaps tout saffron as a key component for a fair, blemish-free skin. There are no proven studies linking saffron to fairness, yet this association persists.

People often ask me the reason behind my blog name and social media handle—Saffron Trail. There’s a simpler reason for it. I sat down to give my blog a name in 2006, there was kheer simmering on the stove, and I was enveloped by a trail of sweet saffron aroma spreading out from the kitchen. That moment gave birth to Saffron Trail.

Saffron rice

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

8-10 strands of saffron

1 cup basmati rice

1 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp almonds, chopped

2 tbsp pistachios, chopped

2 tbsp cashewnuts, chopped

2-3 tbp mixed dried fruit (raisins, cranberries)

2 green cardamom

1 bay leaf

2 cinnamon sticks

4 cloves

Half tsp salt

2 cups water

Method

Lightly roast saffron strands on low heat. Transfer to a small cup with an ice cube. Keep aside for 15 minutes .

Wash the rice and soak it in water for 30 minutes.

Heat ghee in a pan. Add the chopped nuts and dried fruit. Saute on medium flame until the cashews are golden brown and raisins are puffed up. Using a slotted spoon, remove from ghee and keep aside.

In the remaining ghee, add the cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves and stir until the cloves puff up.

Drain the rice and add to the pan. Toast the rice with the spices on medium flame for 2-3 minutes.

Add 2 cups water and salt. Bring this to a boil.

Once the water is boiling, reduce flame, cover with a lid and allow to cook for 8 minutes or until the rice is nearly cooked.

Add saffron-infused water into the nearly cooked rice.

Gently toss the rice in the saffron till it gets a uniformly golden hue. Remove the pan from the flame.

Mix half the fruit-nut mix into the rice.

Remove this on to a platter. Garnish with the leftover fruit-nut mix. Serve with a spicy curry.

Saffron-steamed yoghurt (Bhapa doi)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

6-7 strands saffron

1 cup hung yogurt

Three-fourth cup full-cream milk

Half-cup condensed milk

Few saffron strands for garnish

Method

Make the saffron infusion like in the first recipe. Set a steamer with 2-3 inches of water. Cover and allow the water to come to a boil. Keep 4-6 earthen pots (100-150ml) ready along with 4 squares of aluminium foil to cover them later.

In a large bowl, whisk the hung yogurt with milk, condensed milk and saffron infusion. Divide this smooth infusion equally between 4-6 pots. Seal this well with squares of aluminium foil.

Place the pots in the steamer. Cover with a lid and steam for 20 minutes. When done, the bhapa doi with be set like a pudding. Garnish with 1-2 strands of saffron and refrigerate this for 3-4 hours or overnight. Serve chilled.

Double Tested is a fortnightly column on vegetarian cooking, highlighting a single ingredient prepared two ways. Nandita Iyer’s latest book is The Great Indian Thali—Seasonal Vegetarian Wholesomeness (Roli Books). She posts @saffrontrail on Twitter and Instagram.

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