''Benincasa fistulosa'', commonly known as tinda, also called Indian squash, round melon, Indian round gourd, apple gourd or Indian baby pumpkin, is a

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

-like cucurbit grown for its immature

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

, a

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

especially popular in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Description and use in cooking

The plant is as with all cucurbits, a prolific vine, and is grown as an

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

. The plant also is prickly with small thorns similar to the zucchini. The fruit is approximately spherical, and 5–8 cm in diameter The seeds may also be roasted and eaten. Tinda is a famous nickname among Punjabi families in both

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. This unique squash-like gourd is native to

, very popular in Indian and

i cooking with curry and many gourmet dishes. Green colored, apple-sized fruits are flattish round in shape and 50–60 grams in weight. Plants are vigorous, productive and begin to bear fruits in 70 days after planting.

Variant names

Tinda is also called ''aibhi'' (ऐभी) or "हस्तिघोषालताफलम्" (elephant's nest fruit) in Sanskrit . It is called ''tindsi'' in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, and in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

it is called ''dhemase'' (ढेमसे). In Hindi and Marathi it is called ''dilpasand'', and in Sindhi it is called ''meha'' ().

Similarly-named plants

Tinda can be confused with '' tendli'' or '' kundru'' due to similar-sounding names from different languages and regions. In

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, and most other North Indian languages, the word ''tinda'' means "Indian baby pumpkin."

Production

Global production of the tinda fruit was estimated to be about 1.3 million metric tons in 2013. India is the largest producer of tinda, followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh. Other major producing countries include China, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

References

External links

Benincaseae Flora of the Indian subcontinent Fruit vegetables Plants described in 1851 {{vegetable-stub