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Plant-BasedVegetables
🟢Safe

Ash Gourd

Benincasa hispida

Facts

Ash Gourd is a moisture-rich gourd, offering cooling culinary qualities, mild flavors, and exceptional low-calorie hydration.

Regional names

Ash Gourd

Origin

Ash Gourd has been bred globally for crop density, edible leaves, roots, and pods, anchoring agriculture across continents.

Native region

Tropical Americas, Asia, and Africa

Season

Highly seasonal by crop, with some year-round supply

Food Combinations & Timing

✅

Safe Combination Profile

It is safe to eat this food item with other food items.

Nutritional profile

Calories

14 kcal / 100 g

Protein

0.7 g

Carbs

3.2 g

Fat

0.2 g

Fiber

0.9 g

Water content

Extremely high (94% to 96%)

Glycemic index

Low

Vitamins

  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin K
  • Vitamin A

Minerals

  • Potassium
  • Folate
  • Calcium

Health benefits

Evidence-aligned highlights

  • Provides excellent hydration due to its high water volume.
  • Low in calories and carbohydrates, fitting easily into calorie-controlled diets.
  • Contains antioxidants like beta-carotene and lutein in green-skinned varieties.

Flavor notes

Mild, Sweet, Watery, Fresh, Cooling

Texture

Crisp and watery raw, soft and spongy when cooked

Aroma

Fresh, light, and green

Pairings

Lemon, Dill, Feta cheese, Mint, Tomato, Garlic, Yogurt

Safety & toxicity

Edible parts

Skin (if tender), Flesh, Seeds (if soft and small)

Toxic or risky parts

Tough seeds of mature gourds (discard), Avoid extremely bitter gourds (indicates toxic cucurbitacin accumulation)

Raw vs cooked

Eaten raw (cucumbers/zucchini) or cooked (pumpkins/winter gourds).

Allergies & intolerances

Allergies are very rare.

Drug interactions

No typical drug interactions.

Safe daily limit

Enjoy generously for hydration and fiber.

⚠️ Notice: This safety profile is a general guideline. Dietary tolerances differ; consult a healthcare professional for allergies or drug interactions. See our full disclaimer.

Who should avoid & how to handle it

Who should avoid or moderate

  • Generally safe for everyone; highly digestible.

Preparation & storage

  • Clean: Wash the skin thoroughly to remove dirt and food-safe wax coatings.
  • Cut: Slice into rounds, dice for curries, or spiralize into vegetable noodles.
  • Cook: Saute quickly with garlic and herbs, or roast winter gourds until flesh is tender.
  • Store: Refrigerate in dry bags; use cucumbers and zucchini within a week.
  • Preserve: Pickle cucumbers in vinegar/salt brine, or freeze cooked winter gourd purée.

Cuisine & cultural use

Common cuisines

  • Global savory cooking
  • Soups, stews, and roasted sides

Ash Gourd appears in Global savory cooking, Soups, stews, and roasted sides, often because its flavor structure and prep speed fit both everyday cooking and ceremonial dishes.

Dynamic Substitutions

No alternatives recorded for this specific item. It is chemically or botanically unique in the database.

🌱 Cultivation & Production

Ash Gourd Home Growing Guide

Learn how to grow and cultivate ash gourd at home, whether you live in an urban apartment or have access to outdoor garden land.

Apartment Friendly

✓ Highly Recommended

Yes

Urban Space Advice

Possible on balconies. Requires a trellis/stakes for support and manual hand-pollination of flowers.

Difficulty

Medium

Propagation

Seeds

Soil Type

Rich, loamy soil with abundant organic compost

Watering

Heavy (water deeply whenever topsoil dries out)

Sunlight

Full, direct sun (6-8 hours daily)

Best Season

Warm season (Late Spring to Summer)

Step-by-Step Growing Guide

  1. 1

    Sow seeds indoors in small pots, then transplant into a 5-gallon container on a sunny balcony.

  2. 2

    Provide a strong trellis, stakes, or cage for support early in the growth cycle.

  3. 3

    Keep soil watered regularly, as dry soil causes fruit blossom-end rot.

  4. 4

    Gently tap flowers or use a clean cotton swab to hand-pollinate blossoms if growing indoors.

Quick recipes

Fast recipes using Ash Gourd

Side

Ash Gourd Mint Raita

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Cooling Indian yogurt side dish featuring grated ash gourd, mint, and toasted cumin.

Ingredients

Servings:2
  • 1 cup ash gourd, grated
  • 1 cup yogurt
  • 2 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • Salt to taste

Nutrition

  • 75 kcal
  • 4 g protein
  • 6 g carbs
  • 3 g fat

Preparation Steps

  1. 1Squeeze out excess water from grated ash gourd.
  2. 2Whisk yogurt with cumin powder and salt in a bowl.
  3. 3Fold in ash gourd and chopped mint. Serve chilled.

Dessert

Ash Gourd Kashi Halwa

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Traditional Karnataka sweet made from ash gourd, ghee, and cardamom.

Ingredients

Servings:2
  • 2 cups grated ash gourd
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
  • 10 cashew nuts

Nutrition

  • 290 kcal
  • 2 g protein
  • 42 g carbs
  • 14 g fat

Preparation Steps

  1. 1Squeeze juice from ash gourd and cook the pulp in a pan until dry.
  2. 2Add ghee and sugar; stir constantly until it thickens.
  3. 3Stir in cardamom powder and fried cashew nuts. Serve warm.

Breakfast

Slow Steamed Ash Gourd Dumplings

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Traditional steamed dumplings stuffed with spiced ash gourd pulp and slow-cooked in a steamer.

Ingredients

Servings:2
  • 1 cup ash gourd, grated
  • 1 cup rice flour
  • 3 tbsp grated coconut
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • Hot water

Nutrition

  • 210 kcal
  • 3 g protein
  • 44 g carbs
  • 2 g fat

Preparation Steps

  1. 1Squeeze juice from grated gourd; mix pulp with coconut, cumin, and maple syrup.
  2. 2Knead rice flour with hot water. Shape into cups and fill with gourd stuffing.
  3. 3Steam on low-medium heat for 45 minutes until cooked through.