Saffron is harvested by hand from the saffron crocus flower. Photo: Courtesy of Mohammad Salehi
Salehi noticed that saffron, which comes from the saffron crocus flower, that was available in the United States wasn’t always of the best quality, and some of it was fake. He decided to bring some saffron back from Afghanistan. Mohammad Salehi worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan before starting his saffron company. Photo: Courtesy of Mohammad Salehi
Salehi loves saffron. At home, he and his wife often make saffron tahdig, a bottom-of-the-pot, scorched rice dish. Salehi uses a version of, flavoring it with saffron by grinding 20-25 saffron threads and steeping them in boiling water for several minutes before adding it to the parcooked rice before adding the rice to the frying pan. He garnishes the finished dish with cilantro and lettuce. They also make saffron chicken, saffron lamb – even saffron ice cream.
Additionally, Salehi says that ten percent of Heray Spice’s profits goes to education charities for Afghan children to provide school supplies, tuition, and other aid. “It's very sad,” Salehi says. “We have been going through a lot of sad times in the last eight months or nine months.”