India, June 13 -- "Phalse! Khatte meethe, phalse!"- this high-pitched call echoed through the streets of our childhood, urging us to rush outside and grab a few grams or even kilos. During its peak season, street vendors sell the tangy, berry-like fruit in cone-shaped leaf bowls, while children pluck them fresh from the bushes. In today's world of supermarket aisles and imported produce, phalsa stands as a reminder of simpler times, of childhoods rooted in nature. And of a taste that is as rare as the memories it stirs. This phalsa season, we speak with chefs about what this indigenous fruit means to them. "I still recall the summer afternoons of my childhood, when vendors would walk through the lanes, selling these tiny purple gems wrapped in leaves and sprinkled with black salt," reminisces chef Nishant Choubey, who has phalsa in the classic way. For chef Shipra Khanna, phalsa was an integral part of her schooldays. She tells us, "Even now, every time I see phalsa, along with the fruit, I also remember friendship, freedom and the flavour of being thirteen with the whole world ahead of us." She also shares a recipe with that she serves at summer brunches. Chef Manish Mehrotra fondly recalls buying tangy, salty phalsas at Mughalsarai station in Uttar Pradesh during childhood trips to Dehradun. Now, he enjoys the fruit in kulfi and sorbet form....