Phalsa

What it is

The round fruit grows in loose clusters. Its tender skin changes from green through purplish-red to dark purple or almost black, under a pale, powdery bloom. The flesh is greenish-white with purple-red staining close to the skin. Large fruits hold two hard seeds; small ones hold just one.

Where it comes from

Phalsa, Grewia asiatica, is native to India and Nepal. It is widely grown, especially near big cities, in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In Pakistan its name is usually written falsa. It also reached the Philippines before 1914 and now grows wild on parts of Luzon.

How it's eaten where it grows

In northern India, phalsa syrup belongs to the hot summer months. Phalsa ka sharbat turns the fruit into a sweet-tart drink: the flesh is mashed away from the seeds, mixed with sugar and water, then strained. One Indian preparation adds black salt and roasted cumin, with mint, ice and lemon at serving.

The ripe fruit is also eaten fresh. Tall wild plants bear sour fruit; the best fruits of the cultivated dwarf type blend sweet and sour.

How it's grown

Left alone, phalsa becomes a straggling shrub or small tree about 4.5 m (15 ft) tall, with long, drooping branches and orange-yellow flowers. Growers prune it each year to around 0.9–1.2 m (3–4 ft), encouraging new shoots. Those new shoots carry the flowers and the next crop.

When and where you'll find it

In India, the usual harvest runs from April to June. Fruit is picked by hand each morning over roughly three weeks, as it ripens. Fresh phalsa keeps so briefly that it needs to reach market within a day.

Falsa is also sold frozen: Deep Foods packs Grewia asiatica individually quick-frozen soon after harvest, for juice, pudding or ice cream.