A2 ghee is only as real as the cow behind it. Here are India’s main native A2 breeds — and why the Himalayan Pahadi Badri cow is at the heart of our ghee.
“A2” comes from native (desi) cow breeds that produce the original A2 beta-casein protein. Gir, Sahiwal and Tharparkar are the well-known ones; in the Uttarakhand hills, the indigenous breed is the Pahadi Badri cow — the breed our ghee is made from. Breed is the foundation: no genuine A2 ghee exists without a genuine A2 cow.
| Breed | Home region | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Gir | Gujarat | Popular A2 dairy, golden milk |
| Sahiwal | Punjab region | Hardy, high-quality A2 milk |
| Tharparkar | Rajasthan | Drought-hardy A2 breed |
| Pahadi Badri | Uttarakhand hills | Small, hardy hill breed — our cows |
Many brands print ‘A2’ without naming a breed. A genuine brand names the cow — Gir, Sahiwal, Badri — because the breed is the proof. Ours is the Pahadi Badri.
The Badri is Uttarakhand’s native hill cow — small, sturdy and perfectly suited to high-altitude life. Our herd grazes freely in the buransh & oak forests around Maitoli (Berinag block, Pithoragarh district) at about 6,100 feet. Free movement, wild grass and forest herbs — not stall-feeding — are what make their milk, and our ghee, what it is.
📷 PHOTO NEEDED — Pahadi Badri cows grazing in the forest (replace this caption once the image is added)
It’s a small herd by design — quality over scale. That’s also why genuine bilona ghee from a named breed can never be mass-cheap. Read how breed ties into cow vs buffalo ghee and the wider types of ghee.
Most commercial milk in India comes from hybrid Jersey/Holstein cows bred for high yield — and much of it is A1, not A2. The Pahadi Badri is a native A2 breed: smaller yield, but true A2 milk and far better suited to the hills. For ghee, breed is the whole point — hybrid high-yield milk simply isn’t the same thing.
The Badri is a small, indigenous breed and its numbers are under pressure as hybrids spread. Choosing Badri ghee isn’t just about purity — it helps keep a native breed, and the hill families who rear it, alive. That’s part of why we work the way we do; read the Maitoli story.
Pahadi Badri cows, grass-fed in Maitoli — hand-churned, lab-verified ghee.