South Asian Cucurbitaceae @ Malaysia

With the massive influx of foreign workers from South Asia into Malaysia, it is increasingly convenience to find South Asian vegetables in locally.

First we have the Bangladeshis in plantation and construction sectors, then the Nepalis as security guards, now we even have Indian nationals

I first seen a patol and kakrol in 2013 at a pasar malam of Taman Universiti Indah.  Today sundry shops operated by Bangladeshis are everywhere.  Even the Mydin Hypermarket in Seremban2 selliing patol and kakrol.

Another security guard in Seremban2 have a vegetable garden behind the guard house where he stationed.

Momordica dioica is an common vegetable in South Asia.  The fruits are cooked with spices, or fried and sometimes eaten with meat or fish.

As diverse as the Southern Asian languages, M. dioica is known in many names.  It is called karkotaki (कर्कोटकी) or karkoti (कर्कोटी) in Sanskrit ; kakoda (ककोड़ा) in Hindi ; mezhuku-pakal ( மெழுகுபாகல் ) orpazhu-pakal ( பழுபாகல் )  in Tamil ; Kankada in Oriya ;  bhat-kerela (ভাত কেৰেলা) in Assamese ; Karot in Manipuri ;  kakrol or ghi korola in Bengali ; boda kakara in Telugu ; Kankoda in Gujarati ; Thumba or Thumba Karavila  (තුඹ කරවිල ) in Sinhalese ; Phagil/Phagala in Nepalese ;  etc.

Trichosanthes dioica is another fruit vegetable in commonly found in Southern Asia.  It is used as an ingredient for soup, stew, curry, sweet, or eaten fried and cooked with fish, roe or meat stuffing.

T. dioica too is called in different languages : parwal or parval in Nepali, Hindi, and Gujarati ; kambupudalai in Tamil ; potals in Telugu ; Kāttu Padavalam ( കാട്ടുപടവലം ) in Malayalam ; potol in Bengali and Assamese ; potala in Odia ; paror in Maithili ; parol in Magahi ; parora in Bhojpuri, Urdu, and Awadhi  Tondule ( तोंडूळे ) in Marathi ; etc.

Timun or not Timun

Coccinia grandis

Coccinia grandis, the ivy gourd, also known as scarlet gourd, tindora, and kowai timun padang, or timun tikus, is a tropical vine.

It grows primarily in tropical climates and is commonly found in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where it forms a part of the local cuisine.

Coccinia grandis fruit is often consumed raw or cooked.  The young shoots are cooked as a vegetable.

Melothria pendula

Melothria pendula, also known as the creeping cucumber or the Guadeloupe cucumber, is a plant in the Cucurbiteae tribe.

The plant resembles the cultivated cucumber, possessing miniature yellow flowers, similar leaf shape, same leaf patterns, as well as similar growth patterns. The unripe berries strongly resemble minuscule watermelons.

The berries, when unripe and light green can be eaten raw.

Momordica dioica - Kakrol

Kakrol is most probably the fruit of Momordica dioica, a liana of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae.   Kankrol is also known as spiny gourd, teasle gourd.  

In South Asia, where kakrol is widely cultivated for consumption, it is known in many names : karela (Hindi), katwal (Gujarati), erimapasel (Malayalam), karkotaki (Sanskrit), palu-pakal (Tamil), advikakara (Telugu), bhat korola (Bengali),  etc.

A kakrol fruit is oblong, about 6cm in length and 3cm in diameter, turned yellow upon ripening, with surface covered in many small soft blunt pines. 

Kakrol fruits is bitter in taste.  They are usually peeled before cooking.  They are usually cook with curry, or hollowed, stuffed with spices and steamed, or made into pickle, etc.  

Trichosanthes dioica - Potol

Potol ( in Bengali ), or parwal ( in Hindi ), or parol ( in Nepali ) is Trichosanthes dioica, is a gourd widely cultivated in eastern part of India, Nepal and even Bangladesh.  

Pointed gourd is a vine plant of the Cucurbitaceae family.  It is perennial, dioecious, with heart-shaped leaves.  The gourds are green or with white or no stripes.   Size can vary from 6 to 10 inches. 

  

The pointed gourd in recently brought into Malaysia by Bangladeshi and Nepali foreign workers.  Today, it found its way into local markets and night markets as well, yet the locals have yet to acquire the taste for it.  It is used as ingredients of soup, stew, curry, sweet or stir-fried.

It is a good source of carbohydrate, vitamin A, vitamin C, and other major nutrients and trace elements.

Coccinia grandis

Cute’cumber is the name I called this small cute cucumber.   It is about 5cm in length, only a mere 1-fifth of normal cucumber ( Cucumis  sativus ).  Despite its miniature size, it looks almost like a cucumber, tastes just as similar.  

Cute’cumber , is in fact a not-so-far relative of cucumber.  They are of  the same subfamily of Cucurbitoideae, of the family of Cucurbitaceae.  Cucumber is from the Melothrieae tribe ; while cute’cumber is from the Benincaseae tribe, together with watermelon. 

It is a native of wide range of Asia.  In India, it is known as tindora, and many other names, varied from various dialects and languages.  In English, it is called Ivy gourd.   Botanically, it is known as Coccinia grandis, synonym Cephalandra indica.

C. grandis is a dioecious perennial herbaceous vine.  Stem glabrous.  Tendrils simple, axillary.  Leaves alternate, simple, 5-lobed, 3-8 glands near the base.  Inflorescence solitary, white corolla, 5-lobes, 3 stamens, inferior ovary with 5-lobes.  Fruit a berry, smooth, green, red when ripened.

Propagation via cuttings and seeds.

C. grandis is considered a weed in Hawaii, and some other places. 

In India, and S.E.Asia, its young shoots and fruits are consumed as greens. 

Young leaves and shoots are cooked and eaten as veg.

Green mature fruits are eaten fresh in salad, or stir-fried, or cooked in curries.

Ripened fruit is eaten raw.

It contains polyprenol ( C0-polyprenol (1) ) which is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimutagenic, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antiprotozoal, antiulcer, hepatoprotective, expactorants, analgesis, antiinflamatory.

It is also a god source of several micronutrients, vitamins A and C.

Momordica

Momordica is a genus of about 80 species of annual or perennial herbaceous climber belong to the family Cucurbitaceae., natives to tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Australia.

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Momordica charantia, bitter gourd 苦瓜is native to Africa, but long been used in Chinese folk medicine. The fruit has a distinct warty looking exterior with an oblong shape. It is hollow in cross-section, with a relatively thin layer of flesh surrounding a central seed cavity filled with large flat seeds and pith. Seeds and pith appear white in unripe fruits, ripening to red.

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Bitter gourd comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The typical Chinese phenotype is 20 – 30 cm long. The Indian type has a narrower shape with ridges surface. Some with miniature fruit of only 8 – 10 cm in length.

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The bitter taste is from momordicin , which is said to have a stomachic effect

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Cucumis melo Inodorus 蜜瓜

Common name : Honeydew, 蜜瓜, 白兰瓜

Family : Cucurbitaceae

Honeydew is an American name for the French variety White Antibes.

Cultivation

Originated from France.

Introduced to China by Henry A. Wallace, Vice President of the US in 1940s, who donated the seeds when visiting China. It is grown near Lanzhou兰州, the capital city of Gansu province甘肃省. The name was named bailan melon白兰瓜, for its whitish ( 白 ) coloured fruit, and the area Lanzhou ( 兰).

Description

Annual or sometimes perennial (in wild form), trailing, prostrate or rarely climbing herb.

Stem angular and hirsute, sometimes becoming circular and glabrous.

Leaves ± reniform, 5-angled or shallowly 5-lobed, lobes obtuse, both surfaces covered with soft villous hairs; size variable, 5-15 cm long and as much broad, smaller in wild forms.

Male flowers fasciculate; peduncle 5-3 cm long. Calyx tube villous, 5-8 mm long, sepals subulate. Corolla 1-2 cm long.

Fruit round to slightly oval shape, 15 – 22 cm long. 1.8 – 3.6 kg weight.

Seeds white, oblong and emarginate.

References

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeydew_(melon)

2. http://www.eol.org/pages/584424

Florals @ Cameron Highlands 2

爱情果is the name the local Cameronians call it, translated to ‘love fruit’ in English. It is so called due to its mixed taste of sweet, sour and bitter … the taste of LOVE.

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It is originated from South America, where it is called tomate de árbol, literally means tree tomato. The name tamarillo was adopted in New Zealand to distinguish it from ordinary tomato, and soon it has become the standard commercial designation for the fruit.

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Tamarillo, Solanum betaceum, is a family of the Solanaceae family. It is also called Cyphomandra betacea.

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The fruit is egg-shaped berry, about 4’’ length and 2’’ width. Fruit colour varies from purple, red, orange to yellow. The tree can grow up to 6 meter in height.

Zucchini or courgette is a small summer squash. Along with some other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini is the more common name in North America, Australia, Germany and Italy; while courgette is more commonly used in Britain, New Zealand, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and South Africa.

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‘Zucca’ is the Italian word for squash, and ‘zucchina’ is its diminutive, become ‘zucchine’ in the plural. However, ‘zucchino’, the masculine form, become ‘ zucchini’ in the plural.

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‘Courgette’ is from the French word for squash. It is a diminutive of ‘courge’

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Zucchini can be yellow, green or light green, and generally have a similar shape of a ridged cucumber, though a few cultivars are available that produce round or bottle-shaped fruit.

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In culinary context, zucchini is a vegetable, which means it is usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. Botanically, it is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of female zucchini flower.