Kashmiri Words We Use: A Short Glossary Behind Our Product Names

A lot of our product names carry meaning most shoppers skip right past — words borrowed from Kashmiri, Urdu, and Persian that describe exactly what's in the pack, if you know what to listen for.

Khubani

Khubani is the Kashmiri and Urdu word for apricot, itself borrowed from Persian. It's the same word whether you're talking about the fresh fruit or the dried version most people know it as.

Anjir

Anjir means fig, again shared across Kashmiri, Urdu, and Persian. Like khubani, it applies to both fresh and dried forms — our dried anjir is simply the preserved version of the same fruit.

Kehwa (or Kahwa)

Kehwa refers specifically to Kashmir's saffron-and-almond green tea — the two spellings are just different transliterations of the same word, not two different drinks.

Mongra

Mongra isn't a brand name — it's the term for the top grade of Kashmiri saffron, made almost entirely of the deep-red stigma with minimal yellow style attached.

Pheran

Pheran refers specifically to Kashmir's traditional loose, flowing outer garment — distinct from the broader South Asian "kurta," tied specifically to Kashmiri winter dress traditions.

Zaytoon

Zaytoon means olive in Persian, Urdu, and Arabic — not a Kashmiri-grown product, but chosen as our name for what the olive branch traditionally symbolises: peace and quiet permanence.

Kishmish

Kishmish is simply the word for raisins, used across several regional languages — our golden raisins are golden kishmish, distinct from the darker raisin varieties also called kishmish elsewhere.

Kaju

Kaju is cashew — a word borrowed into Hindi and Urdu, used constantly in everyday cooking references across the region.

Words Worth Knowing

None of this changes what's in the pack, but knowing the words behind the names adds a small layer of context — these aren't arbitrary product titles, they're the actual, specific terms Kashmiri households have used for these ingredients for generations.