CULINARY MASTERPIECE

The sour culinary melon from southern India remains underutilised despite nutritional benefits and a potential to provide food security

- VIBHA VARSHNEY

WHAT DO the Mangalore cucumber from Karnataka, the Madras cucumber from Tamil Nadu, Malabar cucumber from Kerala, and the yellow cucumber from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have in common? The answer, you may think, is fairly obvious― they are all just different varieties of cucumber found in the southern states. But their names belie an important fact-they are not different cucumbers at all, but rather a single type of melon, called culinary melon.

Unlike the sweet melon that we consume as a fruit, culinary melon or Cucumis melo variety acidulus is slightly sour and feels and tastes just like a gourd when cooked. The fruit is found in all southern states, where it differs not just by name but also by appearance, according to a 2022 book, Culinary Melons of South India. In Karnataka, the Mangalore cucumber or southehayi is ovate to oblate in shape, weighs up to 1.5 kg and has a green rind, sometimes patchy or striped. In Kerala (where it is also called vellarikka) and Tamil Nadu, the melon has yellow skin and weighs 1-1.5 kg. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the fruit called dosakaya is small and globular, weighing just 0.5 kg, and has a yellow rind with patches.