Pointed gourd

Pointed gourd Also known as parwal, patol, parval, patola..Colloquially, in India, it is often called green potato. It is widely cultivated in the eastern part of India, particularly in Orissa, Bengal, Assam, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. It is a vine plant, similar to cucumber and squash, though unlike those it is perennial. It is a dioecious (male and female plants) vine (creeper) plant with heart-shaped leaves (cordate) and is grown on a trellis. The fruits are green with white or no stripes. Size can vary from small and round to thick and long - 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm). It thrives well under a hot to moderately warm and humid climate.Chopped pointed gourd To prepare pointed gourd for cooking, wash thoroughly, then cut in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a sharp spoon or corer and discard.Put the washed and peeled gourd on a chopping board and chop them in small 1-2 inch sized pieces with a sharp knife.The gourd can be chopped into big chunks or small pieces as per the recipe.Pointed gourd cubes- Remove the outer rind and take out the fleshy interiors. Deseed the gourd and place on the chopping board. Cut the gourd into small cubes with a sharp chopping knife and relish them in curries.Deseeded Pointed gourd- Peel the gourd and cut in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds with a sharp spoon or corer and discard to get deseeded gourd.Pointed gourd Juliennes- With a sharp knife the gourd is sliced on four sides to create a thick rectangular stick, and then cut lengthwise into approximately 3 mm (1/8 inch) slices. Stacking these slices and again cutting lengthwise into strips creates thin uniform square sticks called juliennes. It is applied to deep frying or in stir fry techniques.Shredded pointed gourd- the gourd can be shredded coarsely in a shredded or manually, using a sharp knife. Cut the gourd in thin slices and then break up the pieces in shreds using fingers.Grated gourd- this requires grating the pointed gourd (after peeling) in a hand held grater. Pointed gourd peels- Peel the gourd with the peeler and the peels can be later used in soups or therapeutic stews