metaboliq
Bottle gourd nutrition, per serving and per 100 g
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 17 kcal | 11 kcal |
| Protein | 0.8 g | 0.5 g |
| Carbohydrate (available) | 2.5 g | 1.7 g |
| Dietary fibre | 3.2 g | 2.1 g |
| Fat | 0.2 g | 0.1 g |
Serving: 150 g, about one katori of sabzi. IFCT 2017 food code D007, "Bottle gourd, elongate, pale green", the mean of 6 regions sampled. IFCT does not report glycaemic index, so this page prints none.
The verdict on bottle gourd
Half-plate vegetable
Fill half the plate: 50 kcal or fewer in every 100 g.
- 4.8 g of protein for every 100 kcal.
- One serving gives 0.8 g of the roughly 58 g of protein a day ICMR-NIN's RDA sets for a 70 kg adult.
- 3.2 g of fibre in a serving.
How bottle gourd fits a plan that loses fat and keeps muscle
IFCT 2017 lists pale-green elongate bottle gourd at 11 kcal per 100 g, the lowest of all fifty foods in this guide. That makes lauki ideal for bulking out meals: in a sabzi, a chana dal with lauki, raita, or kofta made in an appe pan instead of fried.
Because it carries so little protein, lauki works as volume, not as the protein of a meal. Pair it with dal, paneer or curd and the plate stays balanced.
Bottle gourd in an Indian kitchen
Choose a young, firm lauki with smooth, pale-green skin, and taste a small piece raw before cooking: a lauki that tastes bitter should be thrown away, as it can be toxic. Lauki chana dal, a lauki kofta curry made with steamed rather than fried koftas, or a simple lauki sabzi with tomato and jeera all use little oil. Grated lauki goes into thepla or paratha dough, or a raita. It absorbs the flavour of any masala, which makes it an easy half-plate vegetable.
Pair it, or swap it
Lauki chana dal is a classic pairing of volume and protein. Lauki raita with curd adds protein to a light side.
Worth knowing
Bottle gourd juice is popular, but a lauki that tastes bitter should never be eaten or juiced; bitter bottle gourd can be toxic. Lauki halwa and fried kofta change the numbers.
Bottle gourd against similar foods
| Food | Energy | Protein | Fibre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottle gourd | 11 kcal | 0.5 g | 2.1 g |
| Ridge gourd | 13 kcal | 0.9 g | 1.8 g |
| Bhindi | 27 kcal | 2.1 g | 4.1 g |
| Cucumber | 20 kcal | 0.7 g | 2.1 g |