Opo squash curry

This is an Opo squash, which is actually a bottle gourd.

The opo squash was first cultivated over 10,000 years ago in Africa and is now common in Asia. It reminds me of a strange mixture of cucumber and cauliflower. Zucchini is actually the recommended substitute, but they are not the same.

One of my favorite apps I have downloaded is specialty produce. I saw the opo squash at the grocery store and looked it up in the app. The app has several sections: Description and Taste, Interesting Fact, Nutritional Value, Applications, Cultural Information, Geography, History, and Recipes, which has links for baked goods, appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, soup, and dessert depending on the produce you are looking up.

The recipe that piqued my interest and I purchased the squash for is actually a vegan recipe for bottle gourd curry. Here is the recipe from veganlovlie.com, and it is a delicious discovery that needs to be made again and again!

I needed two things for this recipe that I had never used before; fenugreek, and curry leaves. Fenugreek is commonly available I have just never used it. Curry leaves on the other hand are in fact quite rare. I looked for them at seven grocery stores and World Market and still came home empty handed. I was confused when the recipe called for curry leaves because the curry I know is a mixture of spices. Apparently there is a curry tree native to India and Sri Lanka. The leaves are used similar to a bay leaf and can be either put in for simmering then removed, or crushed/ground up fine enough that they are not a choking or digestive hazard and left in. A quick google search showed that there is no substitute for them and recommended either leaving them out all together or finding another recipe. I ordered them on amazon for a few dollars but they wouldn't be here in time, so we're going to see how the recipe is with and without them. I highly recommend this recipe even without the curry leaves and will give an update when I try it with them.

You'll notice some non-vegan protein in the photo. It is grilled tandoori chicken from chef Emeril Lagasse. It is delicious, though I have another marinated Indian chicken I prefer that is part of a Chicken Tikka Masala recipe.

Generaly I would make carrot rice and baked samosas with mango chutney to go with Indian food, but I simply didn't have time this time.

If you can find an opo squash definitely get one and try this recipe or another one.