Vegetables · Gourds

Bottle gourd (lauki)

Long, pale-green, mild gourd (lauki/dudhi) cooked in dals, curries, raita, halwa and kofta across South Asia.

Also called: lauki, dudhi, ghiya, calabash, opo squash, long melon, sorakaya, suraikkai, doodhi

Around the world: लौकी, घीया (hi) · दुधी भोपळा (mr) · દૂધી (gu)

Photo: 撮影者はカールおじさんです。, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

What it is

The young fruit of the calabash vine, sold long and club-shaped or round, with smooth pale-green skin and spongy white flesh. It is very mild and watery, so it takes on the flavours it is cooked with. Choose young gourds with tender skin a fingernail can dent; old ones are fibrous with hard seeds.

Lagenaria siceraria

How it’s used

Grated, boiled and folded into yoghurt for lauki raita
Cooked with chana dal or moong dal
Grated into kofta for lauki kofta curry
Slow-cooked with milk and sugar for lauki halwa
Juiced (only after tasting for bitterness)

Characteristics

Taste: Mild, slightly sweet and green, like a delicate courgette.
Texture: Spongy and crisp raw; soft and almost melting when cooked.
Appearance: Smooth pale-green skin; white flesh with small soft seeds in young gourds.
When cooked: Releases a lot of water when grated or salted; cooks in minutes.
Sold as: fresh
Cooking uses: Commonly cooked, Suitable for boiling
Common in: Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Punjabi, Gujarati

Storage

Refrigerated. Keep whole in a cool place or the fridge for up to a week; wrap cut pieces and use within 2 days.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

Vegetarian
Vegan
Dairy-free
Egg-free
Gluten-free
Nut-free
Soy-free
Caffeine-free

Taste a small raw piece before cooking: a bitter bottle gourd contains cucurbitacins, which can cause severe vomiting and, rarely, serious illness. Discard any bitter gourd, and never drink bitter bottle-gourd juice.