Snake Gourd- Patol

The Snake gourd is a narrow cylindrical vegetable that grows from a creeper. It can grow up to 50cm in length and is usually picked when still immature. The mature vegetable is very fibrous and not used for cooking. It has a delicate zucchini-like taste and the light to dark green skin is thin and there is a narrow central core of seeds, which must be discarded. There is a very thin outer skin that is usually scraped off during preparation. It is mostly used as a salad with onions. But are also used as a vegetable, poached and toss in butter or even gratineed.

There are many distinct varieties of the gourd and they come with many names. Several are worth mentioning here: ‘India Short,’ which resembles a large cucumber with nearly white skin; ‘Extra Long Dancer,’ most snakelike in appearance; ‘White Glory,’ a medium-long variety with white skin, and ‘Baby,’ a short, white-skinned variety. Most of them taste the same and have similar texture.

The word patol is derived from the Sinhalese word ‘pathola’.