Seven Types Of Lychees To Enjoy This Lychee Season In India:

Lychee Cake

, Rabri, And More

Types of Lychee

There are numerous types of lychee growing in India, primarily in the east, northeast and northern areas. Here’s a look at some common types that are consumed as a fruit and available in the market.

Shahi

The Shahi lychee is grown in the Muzaffarpur district and neighbouring districts of Bihar. It is known for its large and oval fruits, juicy pulp, and a pleasant sugar-acid balance, and is distinguished by an aromatic pulp with a characteristic rose-like fragrance. The Shahi is an early-season type of lychee, ripening in the third week of May, and its moisture content, going up to 83%, makes it one of the juiciest types of lychee out there.

• Shape: Globose-heart to obtuse

• Colour: Rose madder to fuchsia-purple with red tubercles

• Pulp: Greyish-white, soft

• Season: Third week of May 

Gulabi

The Gulabi type of lychee is also cultivated for table purposes in North India, and ripens in the fourth week of June. It bears fruit in abundance and regularly at a whopping 100 kg per tree. It is grown in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Bihar (where it is called Dehra-Rose). The clue to this type of lychee’s aroma and taste is in the name itself, pink or Gulabi tends to have a pinkish hue and a fragrant aroma, cultivated in Bihar and parts of West Bengal, with market prices ranging from ₹90 to ₹110 per kg.

• Shape: Medium to large

• Colour: Pinkish-rose

• Pulp: Soft, sweet, fragrant

• Season: Fourth week of June

Bedana 

This is one of the most prized types of lychee among those who tend to seek more pulp in their fruit. Bedana tends to have smaller seeds, with a high proportion of sweet flesh. It’s primarily grown in Bihar and parts of West Bengal. Its round shape and dark pink flush at budding make it visually distinctive from other varieties. Moisture content can go up to 77%, making it ideal for fresh consumption as well as juice and desserts.

• Shape: Round

• Colour: Dark pink flush; red at maturity

• Pulp: Very high flesh recovery due to shrunken seeds

• Season: Mid-season

Rose Scented 

Commercially cultivated for table purposes in the Muzaffarpur area of Bihar, this type of lychee is famous for its distinct rose aroma and hence called rose-scented. It is a mid-season variety that starts ripening in the first week of June, with an average yield of around 80-90 kg per tree. The fruits are medium to large, mostly oval or heart-shaped, and deep rose-pink in colour. It is often confused with the Shahi, with the tell-tale difference lying in the shape of the leaf – rose scented has a boat-shaped leaf.

• Shape: Oval to heart-shaped

• Colour: Deep rose-pink

• Pulp: Greyish-white, soft, moderately juicy

• Season: First week of June

Bombai

Originating in West Bengal, the Bombai is a type of lychee that is an important commercial variety cultivated for direct consumption. It starts ripening during the first to second week of May. The trees attain an average height of 6.7 m, with the fruits being large and heart-shaped, turning carmine-red on a uranium-green background at maturity. The pulp is greyish-white, soft, and juicy, with sweet, aromatic flesh and an average yield of 80-90 kg per tree.

• Shape: Obliquely heart-shaped; large

• Colour: Carmine-red at maturity

• Pulp: Sweet, aromatic, soft

• Season: First to second week of May

Calcutta

The Calcutta is a type of lychee variety that is considered the best of all varieties grown in northern parts of India  (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab) for consumption, with an average yield of 80-100 kg per tree. It is a late-season variety, with fruits ripening in the last week of June. The fruits are large and oblong, with Tyrian rose colour and dark tubercles at maturity. The pulp is a cloudy creamy-white, soft, juicy, and very sweet. It is also known by the synonym Kalkattia and can be cultivated in hotter areas, with proper irrigation and protection from hot winds.

• Shape: Oblong; large

• Colour: Tyrian rose with dark tubercles

• Pulp: Very sweet, creamy-white, soft

• Season: Last week of June

Dehra Dun

This lychee type has trees that produce medium to high yields, with fruits matching the yield in size. The Dehra Dun type of lychee also tends to be oblique, heart-to-conical in shape, and bright rose-pink once ripe. The pulp is greyish-white, soft, and moderately juicy, with a decent amount of sweetness and low acidity. Seeds are small, light, shrunken, and oblong in shape. This variety, which comes from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, is well-known for its abundance of juice, with market prices ranging from ₹100 to ₹130 per kg. One drawback: it is highly prone to cracking under rainfed conditions.

• Shape: Obliquely heart-shaped to conical; medium

• Colour: Bright rose-pink

• Pulp: Sweet, juicy, moderately soft

• Season: Third week of June

Lychee Desserts Worth Making This Season

Owing to its taste and scent, lychees are added to beverages, iced teas, and cocktails, and used in ice creams, puddings, cakes, and pastries. Lychee squash is a popular summer delicacy, and the fruit is also processed into wine and pickles. Here are some lychee uses in desserts:

Lychee Cake 

A lychee cake is dominated by the flavour of lychee, which tends to rely on artificial flavour rather than the actual fruit bought from outside. But for a homemade cake, lychee can be turned into juice, chunky pulp or used whole to add to the cake batter, icing, cream or decorative elements of the cake. Lychee's texture and subtle flavour make it ideal for any other desserts like a sorbet, payasam, or a velvety panna cotta.

Lychee Rabri (Stuffed Lychee in Rabri)

Whole peeled lychees, usually stuffed with sandesh, are dropped into a creamy, thick and reduced milk concoction called rabri. Make sure the rabri is made with one extra element like cardamom and saffron, or go for the summer favourite mango, puree the fruit and add it to the rabri.

Lychee Kulfi

Summer is incomplete without ice cream, and the closest you can get to that in India is the kulfi. You can make your own by slow cooking milk and, towards the end, adding chopped lychee pulp into the thickened milk. It needs no churning nor eggs, just reduced milk, condensed milk, and fresh lychee pulp frozen in kulfi moulds.

Lychee Kheer

Lychees folded into a cold rice kheer takes less effort than panna cotta, which can be equally refreshing if made with low-fat milk and served chilled. The fruit's moisture keeps the kheer light despite the milk base, making it a smart warm-weather dessert.

Lychee Panna Cotta 

The Italian classic gets a local makeover using lychee syrup to replace sugar in the cream base, resulting in a milky and sweet dessert with a subtle taste of lychee. You can also go for a dual layer using pulped lycee fruit and the second layer plain for two contrasting but complementary layers of milk versus fruit.