Vegetables · Gourds
Ridge gourd
Long, ridged green gourd with soft, spongy white flesh, cooked in dals, stir-fries and Andhra beerakaya pachadi.
Also called: turai, turiya, tori, beerakaya, peerkangai, heerekai, jhinge, jhinga, angled luffa, ridged luffa
Around the world: तुरई (hi) · బీరకాయ (te) · பீர்க்கங்காய் (ta) · ಹೀರೆಕಾಯಿ (kn) · ঝিঙে (bn)
Photo: ‘Uncle Carl’ (カールおじさん)., via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
What it is
The young fruit of the angled luffa, a climbing vine: a slender green gourd about 30 cm long with ten sharp ridges running its length. The flesh is pale, juicy and mild, with soft seeds when young. Left to mature, the fruit becomes fibrous and is dried to make a loofah sponge.
Luffa acutangula
How it’s used
- Ground into beerakaya pachadi and peerkangai chutney
- Cooked with moong or toor dal
- Stir-fried as a dry vegetable (poriyal, turai ki sabzi)
- Ridges and peel fried and ground into thokku chutney
- Added to Bengali and Assamese fish curries
Characteristics
- Taste
- Mild, slightly sweet and green, like a cross between courgette and cucumber.
- Texture
- Spongy and very juicy; melts when cooked.
- Appearance
- Dark green with sharp lengthwise ridges; slim, firm gourds are the tender ones.
- When cooked
- Releases a lot of water when cooked and shrinks to about half its volume.
- Sold as
- fresh
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked
- Common in
- South Indian, Indian, Bengali, Chinese, Vietnamese
Storage
Refrigerated. Keep unwashed in the vegetable drawer for 3–4 days; it turns limp and spongy as it ages.
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 tiny piece raw before cooking: a bitter gourd can contain cucurbitacins, which cause severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Discard any bitter gourd.
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 20 kcal
- Protein
- 1.2 g
- Carbohydrate
- 4.35 g
- Fat
- 0.2 g
- Fibre
- 1.1 g
- Sugars
- 2.02 g
USDA FoodData Central: Gourd, dishcloth (towelgourd), raw (a close stand-in).
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Zucchini — Works in pachadi and dal; cook a little longer and expect a firmer texture.
Related ingredients
Recipes with ridge gourd
Beerakaya pachadi (ridge gourd chutney)
South Indian · 41 min · 69 kcal · Vegan
