Snake gourd is a narrow and longish fruit that looks like, what else? A snake! It is long, sometimes curve, and some varieties can grow more than 150 cm (5 feet) in length. It is believed to originate from South Asia. Snake gourd is always used as a vegetable and it is very popular in India, in Southeast Asia and also in some parts of China.
Most of them are dark green with several light green lines or streaks or the other way round but there are some varieties of which, are almost or totally white. It is soft and breaks easily when bend. There are numerous seeds, of which it is relatively large and slightly gray. The seeds and those sticky mass are always discarded when cooking. The skin are usually peeled off too.
When it is fully ripe, the inside of this fruit will turn red, similar to bitter gourd or melon but it tastes better when it is still green. As with most of the vegetables, there isn’t much of a taste but still reasonably nice to eat. Occasionally, some varieties may have a trace of bitter taste.
Snake gourd can be cooked in many different ways. It goes well with curries, yogurts, stuffings, stir-fry or whatever you can think of. Try it for a change! Don’t worry, this snake won’t bite 