High Meadows, Pahalgam · Spring Forage · Batch 01 / 2026
Dandelion Roots
Dug from the high meadows in spring, dried whole and never cut.
- Origin
- Pahalgam
- Tasting notes
- Roasted chicory, black earth, a clean bitter finish.
- Extraction
- Hand-dug, washed, slow-dried whole.
- Numbering
- Numbered against batch 01 / 2026.
- Weight
- 100g net
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The sourcing
Dandelion is only worth taking in the weeks after the snow leaves the high meadows, while the root still holds everything it stored to survive the winter. They are dug by hand, washed, and dried whole — cutting them shortens the drying but bleeds out the bitterness that is the entire point. What arrives is unsweetened, unblended and deliberately austere.
The ritual
- 01
Simmer a small handful in water for fifteen minutes. Do not boil hard — low heat draws the bitterness slowly and cleanly.
- 02
Drink the decoction in the morning before food. Its bitter edge is medicinal · do not sweeten it.
- 03
Store in a dry, dark place. Keeps for up to a year. The roots hold their potency long after the season has passed.
Properties & traditional use
Taraxacin — the compound behind the bitterness — with inulin, a prebiotic fibre, and naturally high potassium.
- Bitter before food
- The decoction is taken in the morning, before eating. Bitterness is the point of it: across many traditions a bitter root before a meal is what the root is for.
- Do not sweeten it
- Sugar cancels the only quality worth having here. If it is too sharp, make it weaker rather than sweeter.
- Roots, not leaves
- Leaf and root are different things. We sell only spring-dug root, dried whole, because cutting it shortens the drying and bleeds the bitterness out.
Offered as background on how these foods have long been used in Kashmiri households, and what they are made of. They are foods, not medicines. Nothing here is a medical claim, and none of it replaces advice from a doctor — particularly if you are pregnant, taking medication, or managing a condition.
