How To Make Falsa Sharbat & Kulfi

Making Falsa sharbat is very easy and is made without lighting the fire. It is a natural summer coolant and keeps the body cool during summers.

Fuschia colour little fruit Falsa is amazing!

I remember during childhood, vendors would roam around the bylanes of old Delhi ( where I lived then) calling at a very high pitch so that their voices could reach inside the big houses lining the streets. Eaten with rock salt and chat masala they tasted awesome.

But now, this fruit is very sparsely available. It is very rarely available in markets and that too for a very short time. All Falsa lovers keep a vulture eye and grab it as it comes. I too was anxiously waiting for it this season. Luckily saw these yesterday and of course, grabbed them.

It's a highly perishable fruit and needs to be consumed almost the same day. But its juice, as we call it, Sharbat with the pulp, can be preserved. And even better if frozen into a "Falsa Kulfi".

What is Falsa?

• Falsa, also known as Phalsa, is a fruit that is native to India and South Asia.
• It's mostly available in the hot months of May and June.
• Falsa is known as Grewia Asiatica in the English language.
• It can be eaten on ripening or can be consumed in a syrup/pulp form.
• In looks, it resembles cranberry, blueberry and Jamun.
• The fruit in the form of berry is quite fragile and needs very careful handling. It is difficult to transport and therefore distribute on long distances.
• On ripening, it acquires a deep purple or blackish colour with a sweet-sour-bitter-acidic taste which is very unique.
• The fruit is rich in nutrients - sodium, potassium, iron, vitamins, dietary fibre.

 

Benefits

• Falsa is very useful, particularly in summers.
• It has antioxidants.
• Has a cooling effect on the body, assists in preventing heat strokes, stomach aches and disorders,  cures anaemia etc.

How to Make 

No Cooking No Boiling Only Juice Extracted

• First of all, I  wash them in a colander turning them very lightly with delicate hands. Yes, you have to do it with a really soft touch, otherwise, the pulp skin would get peeled off and you would be left with seeds only.
• Once washed, soak them in just enough water with sugar for an hour or so.
• Now using your hands, rub it thoroughly so that all the pulp comes out.
• Strain the solution using a colander. Add a little more water to the leftover pulp/ seeds, rub them again and strain after once again the juice in a different container.
• Repeat this process till you are left with pale seeds, with no more pink colour juice coming out.
• The first juice is excellent for making "Falsa Kulfi", as it contains the maximum pulp, by pouring them in moulds and freezing them. In case you do not have it, you can use an ice tray.
• If consuming as Sharbat only, then chill it thoroughly and add a pinch of Black rock salt before serving. Black rock salt is my favourite but you can also try with a pinch of Chat Masala if you prefer.
• Add ice cubes to chill it further. I do not prefer using crushed ice as it may dilute the sharbat quite quickly.

 

 

B. For Kulfi   

• First Juice extracted from Falsa is poured into the moulds and put in the freezer.

Caution -

Please be very careful in the whole process or you will be left with pink/red patches everywhere. This is because  Falsa has a very strong vegetable colour and stains may be left on clothes while handling it, which would be near impossible to remove. So wear an apron while handling it.

LET'S CONNECT!

Hope you have liked this recipe of Falsa Sharbat and will surely try it out for your loved ones.

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