Spiny gourd

Momordica dioica · Fruit vegetable

40 pairings

Spiny gourd (Momordica dioica), also called kantola, teasel gourd, kakrol or spine gourd, is the small, egg-shaped, densely spiny fruit of a tropical climbing vine and a close cousin of bitter melon, eaten as a vegetable while young and green. Its soft-prickled skin covers a pale, mild-bitter flesh that turns nutty and tender when fried or curried, and across South and Southeast Asia it is a monsoon-season delicacy — deep-fried into crisp fritters, tempered with mustard and coconut, or simmered into spiced curries.

Picking a good onedrag

Small, hard, deep green, spines plumpYellow-orange and soft, seeds hardened

Market firmThe all-rounder: dry bhaji, fritters, a mustard-and-coconut curry. It needs none of the salting or parboiling used to tame bitter melon.Everyday best

SkinGreen, a shade duller but with no yellow yet

SpinesSpines all there, a few flattened by handling

The squeezeFirm all over, barely yields to a thumb

Cut one openSeeds white and tender, the core a little looser

What to look for, from small, hard, deep green, spines plump to yellow-orange and soft, seeds hardened.

Preparing