Cockscomb Flower (Mawal): Kashmir's Traditional Red Colour

Cockscomb flower, called mawal in Kashmiri, is a velvety, deep-red flower that Kashmiri cooks have used for generations to give dishes such as rogan josh their colour. It is named for its shape: the ruffled crest looks like the comb on a rooster, which is where cockscomb comes from.

What is cockscomb flower?

Cockscomb is the flower of Celosia cristata, a plant grown across India. The flower head is dense, wavy and brightly coloured, usually red, and it keeps its colour when dried. That is why it has two lives: in the garden and in dried-flower arrangements, and in the Kashmiri kitchen as a natural colouring.

Mawal and rogan josh

Rogan josh gets its red from more than one source. Many cooks use Kashmiri red chilli, which colours a dish deeply without much heat. Others use alkanet root (ratan jot), and some traditionally used the petals of mawal. Because mawal is hard to find outside Kashmir, home cooks elsewhere often substitute chilli or saffron, and in recent years farmers in Kashmir have been bringing the crop back.

That makes the flower a small piece of food history: a colour that came from a flower rather than a powder.

How to use dried cockscomb flower in cooking

The flower is not ground into the dish. It is steeped for its colour, then strained out.

1. Rinse a small handful of dried flowers and put them in a pan with about a cup of water. Start with less and add more for a deeper colour.
2. Simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes until the water turns a deep red.
3. Strain through a fine sieve and discard the flowers.
4. Stir the coloured water into the dish near the end of cooking, such as a rogan josh, a pulao or a gravy where you want colour without extra heat.

Pair it with Kashmiri red chilli, which adds colour and mild warmth. Our Kashmiri red chilli powder is sun-dried and stone-ground the traditional way.

Other uses

• Dried flower décor: cockscomb holds its shape and colour, so it is used in dry bouquets, wreaths and craft projects.
• Festival decoration: in parts of South India, cockscomb is among the flowers used for the Onam pookalam, the flower carpet.

Cockscomb flower: quick answers

What is mawal?

Mawal is the Kashmiri name for cockscomb flower.

What does mawal do in rogan josh?

It gives the gravy a deep red colour when the dried flower is steeped in water and the water is added to the dish. It is one traditional option, alongside alkanet and Kashmiri red chilli.

Do you eat the flower?

No. For colour you steep the flowers and strain them out, so only the coloured water goes into the dish.

How should I store dried cockscomb flower?

Keep it in an airtight container away from sunlight and damp, so it keeps its colour.

Looking for it? See our dried cockscomb flower (100g), or browse the rest of our Kashmiri spices. Kashmir has a long tradition of drying what grows there: read about hokh syun, Kashmir's sun-dried vegetables. This guide is also available in Hindi: कॉक्सकॉम्ब फूल (मावल) हिंदी में.