Namaskaram! 🙏
Hope you enjoyed my previous video on How to Harvest and Consume Banana flower, Hope you try the recipe soon enough. It's hassle-free and full of nutrients.
Today we are learning about bottle gourd or Calabash, Did you know it's one of the oldest vegetables known to human beings?
In this blog, we will go over-
1. Benefits2. How to grow3. I will show you a Recipe with bottle gourd.
Benefits - Bottle gourd is also known as Opo or Doodhi or Lauki. For consumption, we harvest bottle gourd young and soft. We can harvest mature and hard to be used as utensils or for its seeds. It is believed to be originated from Africa and was carried to other parts of the world as humans migrated. It’s loaded with the goodness of Vitamin C, K, and calcium. It's good to bring down cholesterol, sugar levels in the blood.
Be cautious when juicing this vegetable as it can be toxic if stored for too long (you can tell by its bitter taste) can even result in death. Cooking is easy peasy, and need not worry.
Mature squashes can be used for utensils like for storing water or storage of some random things. Is used as instruments in Africa, Hawai, India etc. I read that somewhere in Africa they used this as a helmet to bypass the law of requiring to wearing an actual helmet.
Credits- Pixebay.com
How to grow - We can grow through its seeds or saplings. Seeds are harvested from the mature doodhi. Make sure the soil is week drained and moist. Remember that Bottle squashes are a vine so it needs something to climb up and spread. If you leave it on the ground, the squash would be fat and squat in shape. If you hang it, you can harvest a thin and long bottle gourd.
We can expect our first harvest in two months if the flowers are pollinated. Just like the squashes, both male and female flowers grow and the female flowers need to be pollinated if not they will simply fall out. In India, we grow it in the monsoon season till summer. You don’t need to cut it down after harvesting. Remember to plant plenty of seeds to have a sufficient harvest.
The NPK ratio is 4:8:5. I will do a video on how to make NPK fertilizer at home soon.
Question- What's your favourite Squash/Gourd? Comment below!
Recipe for Doodhi Daal Bhaji-
Ingredients-
- 1 Bottle gourd.
- 2 medium onions
- 2 medium tomatoes
- half cup daal (lentils)
- Chili and curry leaves to taste (Optional)
- Turmeric powder, Salt and Chili powder
Instructions-
- Chop the Doodhi as shown in the video (tiny cubes)
- Add sliced Onions and cubed tomatoes
- Add one-two green chili and curry leaves
- add washed daal
- Add Half TSP of turmeric, salt, and chili powder to taste.
- add two cups of water and boil until the gourd is soft and the daal is cooked.
Hope you enjoyed this blog and the video. I am trying to work more on my vlogs. Please let me know what you like/dislike below. Have a good day or a goodnight.
Best regards,
Sijo
Suggested: Okra 101, How to Choose, Harvest and Consume
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