The flower is called *Mawal* locally. In many countries it is planted in pots or park borders as an ornamental; in Kashmir's fields it is a crop, gathered one blossom at a time every October, then sun-dried before it reaches the kitchen. According to Greater Kashmir, as reported by Onedio Yemek, it is the dried petals that deliver the dark crimson hue to the elaborate meat preparations served at the region's ceremonial feasts — not a spice for heat or fragrance, but purely a colourant with a texture described as velvety.
The tradition had, by some accounts, nearly disappeared and is now reviving. Picking individual flowers at scale is slow work; the fact that it is returning suggests there is renewed appetite for a practice that demands considerable labour.
What remains unclear is whether this revival is documented as a broad regional shift or concentrated among a smaller number of producers holding on to the practice. The difference matters: one is a cultural continuity, the other a niche survival.
Marcus Azzopardi 
Harvey Jr.