Tropical Flavours Blended to Perfection- The New Indian Express

Grewia asiatica may sound like a science experiment but it actually is a shrub or a small plant which is native to India, Pakistan and other tropical countries.The fruit it bears is called falsa, phalsa or pharwa.
The shrub is extensively cultivated for this sweet and sour acidic summer fruit. Not just the fruit, its roots and stems too are used for rheumatism and the bark is used for refining sugar.

I remember buying the tangy fruit with masala generously sprinkled on it on the way back home from the bus stand, making sure to eat every bit to avoid my mother’s bickering that it would give me sore throat. She would insist on eating the fruit at home, properly washed and with homemade chat masala rather than the roadside concoction. She would also prepare most delicious sherbat or squash from the pulp of falsas by mixing sugar and some lemon. I was told that it had a cooling effect in summers and acted as an astringent as well.

Let us make summer coolers like these in our kitchens this week.

Monish Gujral

First chef from India to be invited to Le cordon Bleu to demonstrate in Paris. Monish is credited with the trailblazing turn-around of Moti Mahal, from being a small but iconic presence in Delhi, to becoming a multi-national corporation that is well on its way to defining how the world eats Indian food. A traditionalist, Monish has remained true to the signature dishes that made Moti Mahal a legend, while reinventing the dining experience into one that is exciting and avant garde to suit modern sensibilities.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Close Bitnami banner
Bitnami