The orchards of the valley
When the chinars turn copper in September, the valley's walnut and almond orchards are harvested.
Poles, baskets and September light
Kashmiri walnuts grow on tall, old trees, many of them older than the families who look after them. At harvest the nuts are knocked down with long wooden poles and gathered from the grass into baskets.
The green husks are left to soften, peeled away, and the nuts are dried in the autumn sun. Most of India's walnuts come from this one region.
Paper, medium, hard
Kashmiris sort walnuts by their shell. Kagzi has a shell thin enough to crack in your hand. Wonth is medium. Burzul is hard and mostly shelled for its kernels.
The lighter the kernel, the more it is prized. Pale halves taste sweet and mild.
Almonds of the karewas
On the valley's karewa slopes, almond trees are the first to flower each spring, usually in March, when Srinagar's old Badamwari garden turns white and pink. The nuts are picked in late summer, hulled and dried.
From across the passes, Ladakh adds its own sun-dried apricots, which we carry too.
Light kernels, thin shells and the warmth of last autumn's sun.
How to tell fresh walnuts
A fresh walnut tastes sweet and buttery. Any bitterness or sharp smell means the oil has started to go stale.