Local Name: Kadhu/Lao/Dudi
English: Bottle gourd
Scientific name: Lagenaria siceraria
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Availability: Throughout the year (Peak time: November-April)
Description: Bottle gourd is a fast growing, annual climber (vine) that requires adequate sunlight for flowering and fruiting. Bottle gourds come in wide range of shapes and sizes. The fruit features oval, pear-shaped or elongated and smooth skin that is light green. In the case of round or pear shaped calabash, their surface is marked by inconspicuous ridges that run lengthwise. Internally, its flesh is white, spongy and embedded with soft, tiny seeds
Health Benefits:
– Bottle gourd is one of the lowest calorie vegetables- carrying just 14 calories per 100 g. It is one of the vegetables recommended by the dieticians in weight-control programs.
– Fresh gourds contain small quantities of folates, contain about 6 µg/100g (Provide just 1.5% of RDA). Folate helps reduce the incidence of neural tube defects in the newborns when taken by anticipant mothers during their early months of pregnancy.