Bitter Fact About Bottle Gourd (Lauki) That Could Save your Life

Although bottle gourd is a very popular vegetable in Indian cuisine, there's a surprising fact about it, which people hardly know. A bitter bottle gourd could be fatal. 

Who would have thought that an innocuous-looking bottle gourd could make you rush to emergency?

A few years back, my sister-in-law had to rush to a doctor due to this. She had cooked a bottle gourd curry and it tasted bitter. Disregarding the bitter taste, she took another bite. Soon after, she started vomiting. The doctor told her that it was due to bottle gourd poisoning.

Recently, a friend again brought it to my attention. Her acquaintance landed in ICU due to this poisoning. Though my friend is an avid cook, she never knew about the probability of a bitter lauki wreaking such havoc. She insisted that I write a piece on this and finally, here it is!

A veggie full of goodness can turn fatal if bitter.

Also known as lauki, doodhi and ghiya,  bottle gourd has a mild, bland taste. But one in thousands can be bitter. 

The bitterness in bottle gourd is due to the presence of a toxin called Tetracyclic Triterpenoid Cucurbitacin. This toxin could lead to stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea and gastrointestinal bleeding. 

Before using a bottle gourd:

1. Taste a small piece of bottle gourd from both ends.

2. If it tastes bitter, spit out the piece and throw away the gourd.

3. Drink bottle gourd juice in moderation. If consumed in leass quantity, around 50 ml, the poisoning can be managed better. If consumed over 200 ml, bitter juice can turn fatal. 

4. If you make juice out of bottle gourd, don't mix this juice with any other vegetable juice. Drink it neat!

For e.g. if bottle gourd juice is mixed with bitter gourd juice (lauki mixed with karela), the bitter gourd juice could mask the taste of bottle gourd in case the bottle gourd is bitter. Quite a tongue and mind twister, this! Read again :)

The same holds true for gourds, cucumbers, squash, pumpkin and melon family. If they taste bitter, don't use them. 

Symptoms:

In case a person complains of discomfort or starts vomiting blood after consuming a bottle gourd, don't take it lightly. 

The symptoms can be immediate or can take a while.

Rush to emergency and let the doctor know about the quantity and level of bitterness of bottle gourd consumed. Take a sample of bottle gourd/ juice with you if you can. 

This poisoning needs immediate medical attention. If left untreated, a person can lose his life. 

Treatment: 

There is no antidote for it. The patients are generally treated with intravenous fluids and a thorough checkup of all vital organs is carried out. 

Prevention is the Best Cure:

Spread the word amongst your family and friends. Speak to your cook.  

It is also important for emergency doctors to know about this poisoning and interventions required. 

By spreading awareness, you could save someone from an unpleasant, life-threatening experience. 

Using Watermelon Whites

With each grocery trip being like returning from a war-zone, there's a new found respect for food! A good fallout of the pandemic is that people are rethinking their food habits and ways to maximize the output from fruits and vegetables. 

As you grow conscious about what you toss in the bin, you start wondering about how it could have been avoided in the first place.

Eating a watermelon means dealing with a ton of rinds. While I haven't ventured to experiment with the outer rind yet, the whites below the rind have been looking at me with imploring eyes. I don't have the heart to toss them in the bin, even if it's the compost bin!

My Mom makes a curry with the white parts but I'm not a big fan of this curry. So I was on a lookout for other uses. 

The green of the rind goes to the compost bin. Pic courtesy: Pixabay

Watermelon Whites

I figured out that if the whites could be blended in a gravy or paste, that would be good. I decided to add them to a lentil pancake batter. 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients : 

Moong daal (small yellow lentil) - 1 cup

Watermelon whites - 2 cups

Tomato - 1 medium

Onion - 1/2 

Coriander - A fistful along with stalks

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic (optional) - 3-4 cloves

Green chillies (optional) - 1-2

Lemon juice - Half a lemon

Spices - Red chilly powder, cumin seeds, salt, amchoor (raw mango powder) or lemon juice.

Watermelon whites added to lentils to make a savory pancake (dosa)

Way To Go:

1. Wash the lentils well and soak for at least 2-3 hours. You can soak them overnight too. Blend all the ingredients together. You can add more watermelon whites or water to make a consistency like pancake batter. Taste the batter and adjust spices.
2. When the griddle is hot, season it with some oil. Pour the mix on hot griddle. Keep it on medium-high flame. Flip the pancake when well done from one side. Let it sauté lightly on the other side. 
3. When done, enjoy it hot with ketchup or a dip of your choice. 

The watermelon whites made the batter very light and fluffy. I loved the fact that the volume of the batter went up without a change in taste. 

Here are some other ideas to use watermelon whites.

Add whites to a:

1. Smoothie

2. Soup

3. Dip or Chutney

4. Lasagna

5. Pasta sauce, Pasta veggies

6. Daal or Sambar

7. Paav Bhaji

8. Dough

9. Curry

Tips:
1. You can refrigerate or freeze the whites, because chances are that you won't be able to use them all at once. 

If you use the whites in some other way, do let me know. 

Till then, cheerio!

Sweet Potato Snack

When looking for long lasting vegetables during this pandemic, I added sweet potatoes to my list. While potatoes are our all time favorites, sweet potatoes also provide a nice change.

Sweet potatoes come in a huge variety. In India, we generally get the white fleshed ones. In the US, I buy the orange fleshed ones. 

Sweet potatoes are quite rich in Vitamin A. I use them roasted and also for halwa (a dessert).The recipe I'll tell you about can be served as a snack. Paired with a soup, it can double up as light dinner. This is also a vrat (fast)-friendly snack. 

Sweet Potatoes. Picture Credit : Pixabay 

Serves 3 

Ingredients:

Sweet Potatoes - 3-4

Ginger - 1 tablespoon crushed

Green Chillies - 3-4

Oil of your choice- 1 tablespoon

Cumin Seeds, Salt, Black Pepper, Lemon juice, Coriander leaves.

Way To Go:

1. Wash and peel sweet potatoes. Cube them.

2. In a kadahi (wok), take oil or ghee.

3. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When the seeds splutter, add green chillies and ginger paste. Sauté for 30 seconds and add cubed sweet potatoes.

4. Add salt and mix well. Cover and cook on a low-medium flame. Keep turning.

5. After the sweet potatoes are done, add black pepper, lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well. I let the coriander leaves cook a little as I'm avoiding raw stuff during this time.

Look at the beautiful color!

Tips:

1. Add chaat masala or top with a green chutney. I like coriander-gooseberry chutney or coriander-mint-raw mango chutney. 

Dry Kale Sabzi

When it comes to superfoods, kale is right up there in the greens pantheon. I have to admit, I don't buy kale too often. Even when I buy it, it lies around in the fridge for 7-10 days and then I cook it just in time to retrieve it from the waste graveyard. 

This time around too, the leaves had started turning a tad yellow. I knew I had to act fast or soon it would be a lost battle. Then I cooked it with the recipe I use for mooli (radish) leaves. It worked wonders!

Look at the luscious green! Pic Courtesy: Pixabay. 

Ingredients: 

Kale leaves

Oil - I like to use mustard

Spices like asafoetida (heeng), mustard seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt.
Sifted gram flour (besan) - According to taste. I generally use around 2-3 tablespoons.

Way To Go:

1. Wash the leaves well. Chop both the leaves and stalks. 

2. Pressure cook using very little water. If using IP, pressure cook for 3-4 minutes. Natural release.

3. In oil, add heeng, mustard seeds and chopped kale leaves. 

4. Add spices - turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt. 

5. When slightly done, add a tablespoon or two of besan (gram flour). Keep sautéing. 

6. In the end, add amchoor powder. You can replace amchoor with lemon juice or amla powder.

The sabzi turned out to be so yummy that even my skeptic husband couldn't help appreciating it. I ate a bowlful as my dinner. 

But the best part? I wouldn't hesitate buying another bunch of kale again!