Can you cook gourds
In this guide, we will discuss the question “can you cook gourds?” We will also discuss other queries related to the subject at hand.
Can you cook gourds?
Yes, you can simply and safely cook gourds and make so many delicious gourd recipes. Gourds are edible and don’t worry, they won’t poison you or make you sick. For more information about gourds and gourd cooking, just simply keep reading this article.
What are gourds?
Gourd can be considered as a member of the very famous cucurbitaceae family. Other known members of this family include cucumbers, melons, squash, zucchini and pumpkins. Gourds are known for their hard outer shells, especially if they are dried and hollowed.
What should you do if you want to eat gourds?
If you want to eat gourds, harvest them when they are small and immature which means picking them when their skin is still thin and also the seeds are not fully formed. These immature gourds will be softer and of a less bitter taste.
For example, when very small zucca gourds are picked, they are treated as zucchini.
How can you cook gourds?
If gourds are picked at the right time, you can cook them just as you cook summer squash or as zucchini, so slice or chop them and saute or roast. You will love to eat cooked gourds because cooking will enhance the flavor and texture of the gourd.
In case your gourd is getting harder, you can treat it as winter squash and roast it in the oven and scoop out the flesh discarding the tough bitter skin.
Follow these following steps in order to cook your gourd:
- Bake the whole gourd in order to soften the outer shell and this is done through adding olive oil on the baking sheet and baking at 435 degrees fahrenheit for about 25 to 50 minutes.
- Baking will make the outer shell softer and easy to handle. Once the gourd cools down, remove the outer shell using a sharp knife.
- Scoop out the spongy center which is usually filled with seeds.
- Cube the flesh.
- Cook the flesh of the gourd through boiling, steaming, roasting or baking.
What are the types of edible gourds?
The bottle gourd or calabash
The bottle gourd or calabash is considered as a common edible gourd. When calabash is harvested young, it has flesh and it also has a smooth skin which is green in color.
Bottle gourds can be used in so many dishes such as curry or stews.
Luffa gourds
These luffa gourds are best known as natural sponges. When they are harvested or picked at the right time when they are green, they are also edible.
How can you make the luffa/ridge gourd shrimp curry recipe?
To make this amazing recipe, you just have to get the following ingredients and apply the following steps:
Ingredients needed to prepare the luffa/ridge gourd shrimp curry recipe
- One 1-lb luffa gourd or ridge gourd.
- 1 tablespoon of kosher salt.
- 1 tablespoon of ghee.
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
- ¾ a cup of finely diced yellow lemon.
- 2 green Indian chiles which are steamed.
- 1 teaspoon of coriander seed.
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seed.
- 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seed.
- 1 tablespoon of garam masala.
- Half a teaspoon of ground turmeric.
- 1 medium finely chopped tomato.
- 1 lb of shelled and deveined shrimps.
- 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar.
- Steamed basmati rice.
Directions to prepare the luffa/ridge gourd shrimp curry recipe
- Cut the luffa into around 1-inch cubes.
- Transfer these cubes to a colander set over a medium bowl.
- Add the salt and set aside to drain at room temperature for around 20 minutes.
- Rinse and drain in order to remove any excess salt and set aside.
- Add a medium pot over a medium heat, add the ghee along with olive oil.
- When this ghee mixture is hot and shimmery, you can add onions and cook for around 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions are softened and brown in color.
- Add the chiles, coriander, cumin and fenugreek and fry on low heat for around 2 minutes until the spices are lightly toasted.
- Add the garam masala and turmeric and cook for about 20 seconds.
- Add the drained luffa and cook for around 6 to 7 minutes until the luffa is softened.
- Add tomatoes and continue to cook until they break into a coarse sauce.
- Add the shrimp and season using the kosher salt.
- Turn the heat down to low and cook until the shrimps are pink in color.
- Add the white wine vinegar.
- Serve and enjoy this amazing meal.
Are there any other recipes that contain gourds?
Yes, there are a lot of tasty and delicious recipes that contain gourds as a major ingredient. One of them is the tasty stuffed lauki recipe. For more information about this recipe, the ingredients and the directions, you can simply check here.
Conclusion
In this guide, we have discussed the question “can you cook gourds?” We also have discussed other queries related to the subject at hand.
