What is snake gourd, chichinda?

Snake gourd is a light green snake-like vegetable with a grey-white bloom on the skin. Snake gourd is ethnic to India, especially north. Snake gourd is an elongated gourd that grows from creepers and is light green in color. Snake gourd belongs to cucumber family and is native to India. Snake gourd is a climbing herb with tendrils divided into three parts. It has hairy, angular or 5 to 7 lobed leaves. It has white cylindrical, slender, tapering fruits with a waxy surface. Its fruits are orange in color when ripe and pulpy red at maturity.

Chopped snake gourd

Wash the snake gourd thoroughly with water and pat it with a kitchen towel. Peel the vegetable using a peeler and discard the peels. Place it on a chopping board and then using a sharp knife, slice it from the top vertically and cut it into half from the centre. Cut the half portion into another half vertically and remove and discard the seeds from the centre, if they are mature. Chop it further across the chopping board by cutting them into small pieces of desired size.

Sliced snake gourd

Wash the snake gourd thoroughly with water and pat it with a kitchen towel. Peel the vegetable using a peeler and discard the peels. Place it on a chopping board horizontally and then using a sharp knife by cutting vertically across the cutting board. Slice them thinly or thickly as per the recipe requirement.

How to select snake gourd, chichinda

They should be firm, rounded at their edges, and their color should be a bright medium to dark green. Avoid snake gourd that are yellow, puffy, have sunken water-soaked areas, or are wrinkled at their tips. Thinner cucumbers will generally have less seeds than those that are thicker.

Culinary Uses of snake gourd, chichinda

· Snake gourd can be cooked on its own or can be stuffed with spices of your choice.
· Cooked snake gourd tastes great with avail, dal/sambhar
· Although, the most common everyday method seem to be cooking these gourd solo with few spices, either with or without a gravy.
· The snake gourd is also called tomato gourd in some parts of the world because the bright red pulp around the mature seeds is used much like tomato pulp in cooking.
· In India, the gourd is used as curry vegetable
· Cooking methods include the addition of milk to the simmering stew.
· Snake gourd can also be pickled. The stem tips and leaves are edible, but boiling is essential to remove the unpleasant odour.

How to store snake gourd, chichinda

It is best to store them in the refrigerator.

Health benefits of snake gourd, chichinda

Snake gourd contains very few calories and fat, thus it is a suitable choice for weight watchers. It has substantial amounts of moisture, so it helps to detoxify the body. It can also create a cooling effect in the body. Being a low-carb food, diabetics can safely include it in their diet to manage blood sugar levels while getting enough nutrition.

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