In defence of the humble ridged gourd

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Till my health-conscious mother, whom my father and I used to ridicule as the home minister of our family, thrust it down my throat, I was dead against anything vegetarian.

But one summer afternoon when she steadfastly overcame my resistance and forced me to taste jhinger jhol, a light stew of sliced ridged gourd with black cumin seeds, or kalonji, I was quite amazed at the soothing effect it had in the oppressive heat.

Since then the humble ridged gourd not only charmed me as a summer vegetable, but also began functioning as a brand ambassador of green vegetables to a diehard fan of animal protein.

After that fateful encounter in my late teens, I have discovered down the years that the ridged gourd is indeed a darling of millions of kitchens in all states, especially where the summers are dry and oppressive.

A dark green vegetable, the ridged gourd is elongated and tapered at both ends with a white pulp, white seeds and embedded in soft flesh.

It lends itself admirably to all sorts of chopping attempts. Chop into rings, or grate it, turn it into dice-like cubes or slice into rings — the vegetable can be cooked in different shapes. However, peeling it necessary before chopping it since the exterior skin is a bit rough quite unlike the flesh inside.

One of the most adorable items regularly cooked in Indian kitchens is the ridged gourd cooked with poppy seeds. A dry preparation, it goes equally well with rice and chapatis.

The vegetable is regularly added to sambar and dal, making it a favourite on both sides of the Vindhyas.

Those adventurous in kitchen can stuff it with a filling made from spices such as cumin seeds, coriander seeds, sesame seeds, red chillies, onions, ginger and garlic to make a spicy stuffed curry.

The vegetable is also sliced in rings and fried in batter like chilli bhajjis.

In Bengal, ridged gourd, potatoes and prawns can make a lip-smacking curry.

Many in Andhra Pradesh swear by beerkaya pachadi. They use either the pulp or the skin to make the item that can be savoured with rice, roti and even dosas.

When buying the vegetable, ensure that it is deep green and has an unblemished skin with no depressions. Despite the high water content, the vegetable should not be soft.

Those who are obsessed with healthy food, should be fond of the ridged gourd. It is cool because of high water content, rich in fibre and has got almost no fat, making it appropriate for the digestive system.

Those who insist on a low-carb, low-calorie diet should go for it. Moreover, it is diabetic-friendly which accounts for its popularity in a country where the adult diabetic population is bigger than the entire population of the UK, France or Italy.

An important collateral benefit: When the vegetable ripens it is used to make the loofah. Long before cosmetic companies replaced them with synthetic ones, the loofah from ridged gourd was used by people to scrub their bodies.