Bottle Gourd

Also known asLauki · Dudhi · Calabash · Doodhi · Lagenaria siceraria · 葫芦瓜

Name: Bottle gourd, also called calabash, lauki, dudhi or opo squash (Lagenaria siceraria) — a smooth, pale green, bottle-shaped or elongated gourd with mild, white, spongy flesh. The Philippine upo and Chinese hu gua are the same species, and the oppo gourd has its own page.

Description

The bottle gourd is one of the first plants ever domesticated, thousands of years ago, and was originally grown not for food but as a container, bottle, musical instrument and float. It is native to Africa, and spread across Asia and the Americas in prehistoric times, probably floating over the ocean as a seed.

Young, tender gourds are eaten as a vegetable in India, Southeast Asia, China, Africa and the Caribbean, in curries, soups and sweets. The flesh is mild, watery and slightly sweet, and cooks until soft. Mature gourds become hard and are dried for use as containers.

Main nutrition value

Bottle gourd is very low in calories, with a high water content, and provides small amounts of vitamin C, potassium and fibre.

How best to be consumed

Bottle gourd is cooked, and absorbs the flavour of spices.

1. Peel, deseed and cut into chunks, then cook in curries, dal or sambar until soft.
2. Stir-fry or simmer in soups with shrimp, pork or tofu, as in Filipino and Chinese cooking.
3. Grate into halwa or kofta dumplings in Indian cooking.
4. Taste a tiny piece of raw gourd before cooking, and discard if it is bitter.
5. Choose young, small, glossy gourds.

Overconsumption could cause…

Bottle gourd is safe only when it tastes mild, since bitter ones can be dangerous.

1. Toxic squash syndrome from cucurbitacins, natural compounds that make a squash or gourd intensely bitter, and which can cause severe stomach upset, hair loss and even death in rare cases, so always taste a little raw and discard the whole fruit if it is very bitter. Cases of poisoning, some fatal, have been reported from drinking juice made from bitter bottle gourds.
2. Digestive upset from large amounts of the juice.
3. Possible interactions with blood sugar and blood pressure medicines in large amounts.
4. Allergic reactions in rare cases.

GroupsSquash and GourdsGourd family (Cucurbitaceae)IndianFresh

Related foodsBitter Gourd / Bitter MelonIvy Gourd / TindoraPointed Gourd / ParwalRidge GourdSnake GourdSponge Gourd / Luffa

Wikipedia — Calabash, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabash