Hyderabad: Anab-e-Shahi, a variety of grape with seeds, and the Phalsa fruit were once indigenous to Hyderabad — grown across large pockets of land in the city’s outskirts. The fruits were initially cultivated by the Nizam but today, the Anab-e-Shahi grape and Phalsa are rare, being sold at Rs 200 per kg.
The Anab-e-Shahi was a major part of grape cultivation in Hyderabad and it was famous for its very high yield. “It is a seeded variety with very less Total Soluble Solids or TSS, which makes it sour. But this grape comes to harvest very late in the season,” says Dr V. Raj Shekar Tummala, a senior scientist and ecologist.
He adds: “But the crop comes into good demand and at a reasonable price after other varieties are over. However, its cultivation has dwindled in the city despite it staying on as a popular variety in Karnataka.”
The Phalsa meanwhile, is a fruit grown in large clusters. The largest of these fruits can measure 1.25-1.6 cm in width.
The skin turns from green to purplish-red and finally into dark-purple or nearly black. It is covered with a thin, whitish bloom and is thin, soft and tender.
The fruit’s cultivation dwindled and in Old City, where the Phalsa Sherbet was once famous, missed a regular beverage that used to be served in its bylanes.
One can still find the beverage being served at the Putlibowli market but it will take some looking.
