Spiny gourd (Momordica dioica) as we Bangladeshis call it Kakrol, looks and taste very different than many other vegetables in Bangladesh. It is not bitter but taste like cucumber with texture. There’s many recipes of Kakrol but today we are making the stuffed version.

Besides Kakrol itself, we need gram flour or Beshon (Chick pea flour), rice flour and for stuffing, we need onion, shredded coconut, white poppy seeds, chili, fresh coriander and of course salt and oil.

We first need to wash kakrol very well and cut the to remove the stem.

Then we need to boil the whle Kakrol until they become soft so when you poke with a fork, it goes inside completely. When boiled completely, drain kakrol and set them aside to let it cool.

Meanwhile, we need to make a paste of poppy seeds. I have used a coffee grinder, as we need to make a dry paste. If you have a good old style Bangladeshi mortar pestle, then make a paste with it. Otherwise it is not easy to blend this kind of small seeds.

Now we will prepare stuffing for the kakrol. First we take the poppy seed paste in a food processor, then we take chopped onion, chili, fresh coriander and shredded coconut. We blend a little until they are well incorporated. Then we have to scoop out the inside part of kakrol, as we can see in the picutre number 2. Take the inside flesh and blend well with the rest of the stuffing. Taste if you need more salt.

Then we put the stuffing inside the little kakrol boat. Careful not to put too much.

Many people would steam the stuffed kakrol at this stage and would save some time and make it healthier. But to make it exciting, we are continuing to the following steps.

Now we have to make batter. We mix beshon, salt and rice flour and little bit of turmeric powder to add colour. Then we add water but carefully, so the batter is not too thick not too thin. As we can see int he last picutre, the batter should be dripping but not very thin.

Now we have to put the stuffed kakrol fruit in the batter and carefully cover the them in batter.

After 5-6 minutes of frying in medium heat, carefully flip stuffed kakrol. If you need you can use a spoon. This step has to be done carefully as the veggie tends to break easily. So let them fry well without checking them often.

This is the final look of the stuffed Kakrol. It is amazing as a snack or as a side dish! And a fun way to feed this veggie to kids too! Happy eating!

Recipe: Stuffed Spiny Gourd Prepping time: 20mins, Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients: Spiny Gourd aka Kakrol Spice and Condiments: 200ml vegetable oil to fry 150-200g Gram Flour or Chick pea flour or Besan 50g of Rice Flour Half tsp of Turmeric powder 1 tsp fine Salt 200g shreded coconut 50g Fresh Coriander 150g White poppy seeds 2-3 green chili 1 onion

Instruction: 1. Wash kakrol and cut the top part and remove stem. Boil them with 1 tsp of salt. Boil until it can be poked with fork. 2. Make a dry paste of poppy seed with coffee grinder or mortar pestle. 3. Take a food processor, take onion, shredded coconut, chili and coriander and blend well. 4. Cut the boiled gourd in half and scoop out the flesh with a help of a spoon. Leave the small *boat* shape gourd and add the flesh to the stuffing mixture and blend again. 5. Stuff the gourd and make round shape. 6. Make batter with gram flour, rice flour, salt and turmeric. Dip the gourds in the batter carefully. 7. Deep fry them carefully. Serve hot with rice or as a snack.