Kesar
Deep orange, aromatic, and built for a bowl you guard closely.
Kesar mangoes photographed at a market in Mumbai, Maharashtra, by Dr. Raju Kasambe.
Mango Kesar Indian variety IMG 20230603 114021 (2).jpg — Dr. Raju Kasambe. Photograph source · CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Resized for display; complete frame retained. No generative edits.
How it tastes
Rich sweetness · Citrus lift · Fragrant
- Texture
- juicy
- Fibre
- Low fibre
- Eating styles
- Get sticky
- Harvest
- See regional calendars
How to enjoy it
Gir Kesar is associated with Gujarat’s Gir region. Its name points to the rich colour of the pulp. Smooth, fragrant flesh lends itself to aamras: a bowl of ripe mango pulp to scoop up with puri or eat with a spoon.
Press ripe flesh into a smooth aamras. Try it with warm puri, or chill a small bowl for dessert.
When it is ripe
Wait for a sweet, resinous aroma and a slight give.
Flavour notes are subjective. Ripeness, handling and growing conditions change the fruit.
Compare this mango · Saved mangoes
Names, history & sources
Recorded names
A shared name does not by itself establish an identical cultivar. Place, language and source matter.
- Kesar
Saffron: the colour behind the recorded naming account.
- Gir Kesar
The regional identity associated with the Gir growing area.
- Sale Bhai ni Ambadi
Earlier name preserved in the historical account reported from Junagadh.
The colour that became a name
Documented history: consult the claims and qualifications in the cited sources.
Before Kesar became a famous name, historical accounts call the mango Sale Bhai ni Ambadi. Reporting based on Junagadh Agricultural University’s work describes grafts being spread from its mother tree and moved to the state’s Sakkar Bagh and Lal Dhori gardens. Horticulturist Ayengar studied the fruit there.
The same account dates its naming to 25 May 1934: Junagadh’s Nawab Mahabat Khan recognised the saffron colour of the ripe pulp and called it Kesar. The fruit’s name makes that moment visible every time it is cut open. Gir Kesar also names a place: the growing country around Gir, whose particular reputation received geographical-indication recognition.
Read the full storyPlaces in this record
Country associations alone do not establish botanical origin.
- India
Catalogue association
Associated place in the tasting catalogue; this does not establish botanical origin.
- Vanthali and Junagadh, Gujarat
A place in the story
Setting of “The colour that became a name”. Read the story for its evidence and qualifications.
Harvest calendars by growing place. These regional calendars do not specify this cultivar’s exact season.