04 March 2009

Help Me Identify This Vegetable


It is my turn to ask a question.

On a recent trip to Malaysia, I was invited to my host's home for a wonderful asian dinner. Their maid is Sri Lankan and prepared a dish that looked to me like a small bitter gourd or bittermelon cooked in coconut milk and various spices. I liked the dish so much that I had to know what it was made of. You see, rather than being bitter, it was actually sweet and pleasant, yet it was a taste I could not readily recognize. My host did not know what it was either, so she asked her maid to show me the uncooked vegetable. To my surprise, it did not look like at all like a bitter gourd, or Ampalaya. And the maid could not give me a name for it, either, except that she saw it in the wet market and knew from experience that it was edible.


I guess it is... I am unscathed. :-)

Can anyone help me identify this vegetable? I would appreciate it.

This is something I would like to plant in the Philippines. I can think of a dozen ways to prepare that very versatile vegetable.
Go on and hit the comments button if you know what this is!
Salamat!

6 comments:

Reg said...

My gf thinks it could be Breadfruit. Can you provide more details -- like how big it is, does it grow on a tree or a vine?

Anonymous said...

it looks like a relative of langka and camansi...

http://www.montosogardens.com/artocarpus_camansi.htm

Anonymous said...

it looks like a relative of langka and camansi...

http://www.montosogardens.com/artocarpus_camansi.htm

Ang Kuwago said...

Reg, it is as big as a lemon or your usual 'native' bitter gourd. Quite small compared to the breadfruit I am used to seeing. I have no idea whether it came from a tree or vine.

Peachy and Reg, it could actually be a baby breadfruit, come to think of it, although the vegetable I saw still does not resemble a mature breadfruit's rind.

Let us see what the others have to say...

Thanks for your inputs!

Anonymous said...

It could just be a baby langka.

Anonymous said...

what u r wondering is "Teasle Gourd" or "kakrol" in Bengali name. It is mainly available to Indian subcontinent nations & very popular among Bengali people. U may find it in Indian Supermarket or a person from Bangladesh /India if you know, might help u out. Good Luck......NishatAK@GMail.com