Bottle gourd, commonly known as Lauki in India, is a light green vegetable widely known for its multiple health benefits. This vegetable is a part of the staple diet in many Indian households. Thus, it is a popular plant grown in most home gardens. Bottle gourd plant is referred to as Calabash and various other names.
Bottle gourd meaning
Bottle gourd, also known as Lauki in Hindi and by its scientific name, Lagenaria Siceraria, is a vine harvested early and used as a vegetable. The plant belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. It is also harvested mature, dried, and utilised as a container, or musical instrument.
Bottle gourd plant: Quick facts
| Plant name | Bottle gourd plant |
| Common names | Long melon, White-flowered gourd, New Guinea bean and Tasmania bean |
| Family | Lagenaria siceraria |
| Found in | Asia |
| Flower | White flowers |
| Benefits | Health benefits and culinary uses in different cultures |
- The Calabash fruit has light green skin and white flesh when it is fresh and available in varieties.
- Bottle gourd vegetable grows up to over a metre in length.
- The plant is native to Asia and now widely grown in other parts of the world, including Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
- The plant grows well in tropical and subtropical regions.
Bottle gourd benefits
Bottle gourd in India is seen as a wonder plant with many health benefits. The bottle gourd vegetable is available in many varieties — small and bottle-shaped, slim, and winding, and huge and round varieties. The round varieties are called calabash gourds.
Bottle gourd health benefits
- Fights diabetes: Traditionally, bottle gourd has been used to manage diabetes owing to its low fat and high fibre content.
- Heart health: Bottle gourd juice, commonly referred to as Lauki juice, is beneficial for heart, if regularly consumed twice or thrice a week. It also helps regulate blood pressure.
- Stress control: The vegetable is also found to reduce stress and anxiety levels, as it has water that creates a cooling effect.
- Weight loss: The vegetable is rich in iron, potassium, and vitamins. Bottle gourd juice can be included in one’s diet if one is looking to reduce weight.
- Improves digestion: Bottle gourd has sufficient fibre and alkali content that promotes healthy digestion and aids in reducing acidity.
- Skin health: The plant is a good source of vitamin C and helps maintain skin health.
- Helps manage sleep disorders: Drinking bottle gourd juice promotes sound sleep and tackles sleep problems.
- Prevents greying of hair: One of the ways to tackle premature greying of hair is to consume lauki juice, which aids in keeping the hair texture healthy.
Also read about the health benefits of Cissus Quadrangularis herb
Bottle gourd used in cooking
Bottle gourd is an important ingredient in cooking in many cultures.
- In north India, Maharashtra, Assam, and other parts of India, bottle gourd is cooked in different forms such as boiled vegetable curry, lauki kheer (dessert), etc. and consumed with roti, rice, and other ways. Calabash is also popular in other countries in the Indian subcontinent.
- In east Asia, Calabash is popular in southern Chinese cuisine and consumed as a soup or a stir-fry dish. In Japanese cuisine, Calabash is sold as dried, marinated strips called kanpyo and used in making rolled sushi, known as Makizushi.
- In central America, bottle gourd seeds are toasted and grinded with rice, allspice, cinnamon, and other ingredients to prepare a drink known as horchata.
Bottle gourd cultural significance
- In India, the Calabash plant is used as musical instrument. It is utilised as resonator, while making string instruments, such as toomba, or veena.
- Sages, as per Hindu tradition, have used a dried gourd vessel known as Kamandalu.
- In many rural areas, unpunctured gourd serves as a float that allows people to learn to swim in waters.
Bottle gourd: How to grow?
Fill the planter with soil and level the surface. Use water to wet the soil, which will set the right environment for seeds to germinate. Plant a bunch of three bottle gourd seeds, around one to two inches in depth in soil. Cover them with a growing medium.
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Bottle gourd plant care
Water
Regular watering during the plant’s growing season is essential for supporting plant flower and fruit. Monitor the soil daily to check for moisture loss. Water the plant if the soil turns dry.
Transplanting
If the plant attains a minimum height of half a foot, transplant it to a container pot, or an open space in the garden. Remove the unhealthy ones before transplanting and retain only the healthy plants. Cut the weakest seedlings away at the base of the soil.
Sunlight
Keep the plant in an open area with adequate sunlight.
Fertilisers
Fertilisers help in healthy growth of the plants as they provide the required nutrients. Choose organic micronutrients.
Harvesting
The bottle gourd plant may begin flowering within 25 to 30 days from planting. It will produce white flowers, around four inches in diameter. The bottle gourds vegetables may appear within 40-50 days of planting.
Pruning
Prune the vines when they reach around eight feetv in height. This will promote fruiting. Make sure to trim off the vines that appear damaged or broken.
How to grow bottle gourd from seed?
You can grow bottle gourd plant from seeds. It can be grown easily throughout the year. Choose an area for planting which gets a minimum of six hours of sunlight. This enables the plant to thrive and grow. Make sure there is a well-draining soil. Adding compost to enable drainage. Summer and monsoon time are ideal to plant bottle gourd seeds. Create mounds of soil at least six inches in height and 12 inches wide. Build a solid trellis to aid the vines to grow. Push seeds half or one inch into each mound. Plant four seeds per mound with around three inches of space between them. Avoid laying the seed flat on either side as it may rot before it germinates. Water the soil immediately and make sure to water at least once a week. The sprouts will begin to emerge within ten to 14 days.
How to grow bottle gourd in pots?
Fill the flowerpot with a growing medium. Level the surface. Add adequate water to keep the soil moist and enable the seeds to germinate. Soak the plant seeds in water overnight before sowing, which will help in faster germination. Plant the bottle gourd seeds about one to two inches deep in group of three seeds. Cover the seeds with soil. Keep the soil moist by spraying water twice a day.
How to use bottle gourd?
The edible fruits of bottle gourd plants are cooked as vegetables. They are used in preparing various dishes. However, there are other uses of bottle gourd. The mature gourds are cut and shaped into water bottles, dippers, spoons, pipes and other containers. Moreover, they can also be shaped into birdhouses, musical instruments, lamps, and fancy ornaments. Bottle gourd plant is also grown in gardens as it is an ornamental plant that produces attractive flowers.
FAQs
Are bottle gourds poisonous?
Bottle gourds contain cucurbitacins, a type of compound that may be toxic at higher concentrations. The presence of tetracyclic triterpenoid cucurbitacins in the plant gives it a bitter taste, which may cause stomach ulcers.
Is bottle gourd and pumpkin the same?
Bottle gourd, or lauki, is known as kaddu in many parts of India. However, kaddu translates to pumpkin. Gourds and pumpkins differ in terms of their harvesting season. While gourds are allowed to mature, pumpkins are harvested when the rinds turn hard and skin orange.
What are the side effects of bottle gourd?
As bottle gourd juice tastes bitter, it may lead to severe poisoning reactions when consumed. People may experience symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea.