I keep having this South Indian dish with what appear to be baby cucumbers halved length-wise. What are these little vegetables called?
by 
AntigoneRising
ANSWERS: 4
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It appears to be what is known in English as a bitter gourd or bitter melon... from the same family as cucumbers. Their Indian name is Karela. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karela
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinia_grandis
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1) it could be that the other answers are right, it would be better if you gave the name of the dish. 2) Maybe Karit: "On previous evening of diwali (Thrayodashi) we decorate the water well as well as the vessels (’kolse’-Konkani or ‘koda’-Kannada or ‘matka’-Hindi) with a creeper called “Karita vali”. “Karit” is a small ping pong ball sized special cucumber with bitter taste." Source: http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2006/10/19/chudvochoodachivda-konkani-style/ 3) Maybe Dosakai/Vellarikka: Recipe for Cherupayar curry: http://isouthpotpourri.blogspot.com/2006/05/cherupayar-curry.html Recipe for Vellarikka Pulingurry : http://isouthpotpourri.blogspot.com/2006/05/vellarikka-pulingurry.html 4) there is a nice song about Vellarikka (but maybe it has here a quite different meaning): "Vellarikka pinju vellarikka" http://www.tamiltune.com/MJ/Songs.php?typeId=1&id=61 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yl24WjISBk (only audio)
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From the description of the vegetable by you I think it must be "Kovakkai" (in South India) or "Kundru" (in North India) it is called "Ivy Gourd" in English. Also known as "Gherkin" in America. Very tasty just as Cucumber but little in size also from a vine just as cucumber.
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