The Nutritious Bottle Gourd

Commonly known as lau, bottle gourd or calabash has gained so much popularity in the Bangladeshi cuisine that there are even songs about the vegetable! It is usually cooked as a curry with shrimp in light gravy or julienned and then fried; in both forms it is exquisitely delicious. It can be sautéed, fried, pickled or grilled. The bottle gourd is a commonly cultivated plant in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world.

Bottle gourd has always been regarded as one of the healthiest vegetables. It is high on water and is a rich source of Vitamin C, K and calcium. It helps in maintaining a healthy heart and brings down bad cholesterol levels. It is also rich in fibre and is believed to help in healthy digestion. The juice of the bottle gourd is rich in Vitamin C and zinc contents and it helps in regulating blood sugar levels. However, one should be careful to never consume bottle gourd juice that has developed a bitter flavour as it may contain toxins that can cause extreme harm to the digestive track, ulcers, and in some cases, even fatality. Bottle gourd also contains a good amount of choline—a kind of neurotransmitter that helps in improving the functions of the brain and helps in preventing stress, depression and other mental disorders.

Turab, a bottle gourd farmer from Shahbazpur, Jessore, shares his experience of growing this wholesome vegetable. He shares that bottle gourds are grown either by directly sowing seeds or by planting 15 to 20-day-old seedlings. Bottle gourd can be grown in various kinds of soils but sandy loam soils are usually ideal. The pH range of soil should be within 6.5 to 7.5. Pesticides such as urea, potash, TSP are put in the soil when the plant grows to a certain level. Irrigation should be done at six/seven days’ interval after applying pesticides. If planted under a tall tree, the vine may grow up to the top of the tree. To obtain more fruit, farmers sometimes cut off the tip of the vine when it has grown to 6-8 feet in length. This forces the plant to produce side branches that soon bear flowers and yield more fruit. Crops are ready for harvest within two months; the yield ranges between 35-40m tons/ha.  

Turab, along with many farmers of the area, provide vegetables for Shwapno under the Shuddho project. According to Turab, this initiative has helped him adopt the right agricultural practices for growing bottle gourds, in terms of learning about how much fertiliser or pesticide should be used. Farmers also have an opportunity to learn about the interval period between pesticide application and harvesting, known as the Pre-Harvest Interval (PHI).

Bottle gourd can be grown year-round in tropical climates. It is a vegetable that can be paired up with almost any dish. Surely enough, with many of its benefits, this is a vegetable that should be consumed often for receiving its optimal benefits.

A joint initiative of Shwapno and The Daily Star