Ridge gourd, a member of the cucumber family, also is known as silk gourd, sponge gourd, Chinese okra, angled luffa, turai, turaj or turiya.
It is a common vegetable in India and other South Asia countries, and in India is often cooked with lentils or in soups.
When purchasing ridge gourds, look for those that are firm and dark green in color. Those that are light green are not yet ripe. After getting the ridge gourd, eat it within a week. The skin of the young fruit needs to be peeled, exposing the white pulp.
The ridge gourd has a high water content and is low in fat, making it a good dietary food for diabetes as well as weight loss. According to SelfGrowth.com, The Online Self Improvement Encyclopedia, there are 17 health benefits of ridge gourd:
1. It helps to cool down the body.
2. It is a natural detoxifier.
3. It purifies the blood.
4. It removes harmful toxins from too much alcohol.
5. It nourishes the liver as well as helps to cure disorders of the liver.
6. The charantin and peptide in the ridge gourd have insulin properties that help lower blood sugar levels as well as urine sugar levels, without interfering with blood insulin levels.
7. It restricts sugar from rising above normal and dropping too low.
8. The high fiber in a ridge gourd helps with food digestion and proper functioning of the excretory system, which makes it a natural remedy for constipation.
9. It makes your skin glow.
10. It helps treat acne.
11. Eating ridge gourd with other high-fiber, low-calorie foods could make one lose up to 2 pounds a week.
12. It is a good anti-inflammatory agent and helps with cardiovascular disease, strokes and cancer.
13. Cut into small pieces and eaten with some lime juice, it helps with urinary bladder inflammation and urethritis.
14. It has antibiotic qualities that prevent and heal bacterial infections.
15. The juice of ridge gourds can heal jaundice and liver disease. The seeds plus the meat of the gourd can be ingested for the cleansing of the liver, and 1 cup of juice taken twice daily can help heal liver disease and jaundice.
16. The roots, boiled in water, are great for healing swollen lymph glands, dissolving away kidney stones and detoxifying the spleen.
17. The leaves of the plants, like young guava shoots, work well for treating diarrhea.
Ridge gourd contains vitamins C and B and amino acids, as well as trace iron, calcium, proteins, riboflavin, niacin and thiamine. One serving of 100 grams is only 17 calories, 95 grams of moisture, 3 grams of carbohydrates and 26 milligrams of phosphorous.
Ridge gourd’s mild flavor goes well with a lot of exotic spices. They can also be stuffed, baked or dipped in batter and fried.
You can stir-fry them, add them to soups and stews in Chinese, Asian and African dishes. I added my ridge gourd to a chicken soup. It’s mild flavor and texture when cooked is like “togan,” or winter squash.
This lentil and ridge gourd soup is easy to make in a pressure cooker. The soup, with cumin and cinnamon, reminds me so much of my wonderful memories in India.
Red Lentil
and Ridge Gourd Soup
Serves: 6-8
In a pressure cooker, place:
1 cup red lentils, washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes
1 medium onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced (I used a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes and one can of water to rinse out the can into the pot)
3 garlic cloves
2 ridge gourds, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
3 green chilies (I added a 7-ounce can of diced green chilies I have in my pantry for Mexican cooking)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups vegetable broth
In most Indian recipes, it calls to cook for two to three whistles. When I was in India at Nimmy Paul’s home in Kerala, she cooked lentils and told us to cook them for two whistles, which is about three minutes.
I have an electric pressure cooker, so I had to punch in a time to start the cooker. I pressed six minutes, which I figured would be fine since I was making soup which would be blended with a stick blender anyway.
If I were cooking lentils and wanted to shape of them to remain, three minutes would be enough.
Allow the pressure to be released first, then open the lid. Cool a bit, then with a stick blender, blend the soup to make a smooth soup.
Add:
1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional (I did not add it as I loved the flavors of the ground cumin and cinnamon)
Salt to taste
Serve in serving bowls, top with:
Unflavored plain yogurt
Chopped parsley
Foodie bites
• Want to grow ridge gourd? It likes warm and even hot weather between 85 and 90 degrees.
• When allowed to mature, ridge gourds become very fibrous and can be used as a scrubber or loofah.
• The Hawaii Community College Culinary Department’s The Cafeteria is open for the semester from Tuesday through Friday. Hours are 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Take-out orders are welcome by calling 934-2559. Last week’s menu included Hawaiian-style shoyu chicken for $7.95, beef broccoli at $7.25, pork cutlet for $8.95, Korean fried chicken at $7.95, pork chop suey for $7.25, grilled fresh fish for $8.95 and eggplant parmesan for $6.95. The meal includes a choice of rice, pasta or potatoes, with hot vegetables or green tossed salad with house dressing and hot soup of the day.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.
