Degchi
Desi Vegetable Names: Aubergine, Brinjal, Baingan and More
You are standing in the aisle and the name does not match
A recipe says baingan bharta. Your supermarket sells aubergine. The desi grocer sells brinjal. The recipe from your aunt just says "the long green one". All of them are the same purple vegetable, and the confusion costs you a trip to a second shop.
This is a translation list for the vegetables that appear again and again in our recipe library. It sits alongside our guide to capsicum, shimla mirch and bell pepper names, and covers the other half of the market stall: the gourds, the aubergines and the green things you only know by their Hindi or Urdu name.
The quick table
| Name on the recipe | UK name | US name | Recipe in our library |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baingan | Aubergine | Eggplant | Baingan bharta |
| Bhindi | Okra, lady's finger | Okra | Bhindi masala |
| Lauki, ghiya, doodhi | Bottle gourd | Bottle gourd, calabash | Lauki chana daal |
| Tori, turai | Ridge gourd | Chinese okra, luffa | Tori sabzi |
| Tinda | Round gourd, Indian round gourd | Apple gourd | Tinda masala |
| Karela | Bitter gourd | Bitter melon | Karela masala |
| Gobi | Cauliflower | Cauliflower | Aloo gobi |
| Matar | Peas | Peas | Aloo matar, keema matar |
<!-- VERIFY: English and regional names are common usage. Names for tinda and tori in particular vary by shop and country; check with a local grocer. -->
Use the left column to search recipes. Use the middle or right column to ask for the vegetable. If the shop assistant looks confused, try the Hindi or Urdu name, because desi grocers often label by that first.
Baingan: one name, several shapes
Baingan comes in a round, large purple form and a long, thin, pale-purple form (often sold as Asian or Japanese aubergine). The baingan bharta recipe wants one large whole aubergine, about 1.1 lb or 500 g, charred whole on a flame or under a grill, then mashed. For that, buy the big round kind: the thin ones have less flesh and a different taste after smoking.
In Bengali cooking you will see begun, as in begun bhorta, which uses the same idea with mustard oil and raw onion. 15 minutes prep and 35 minutes cooking for the bharta; 10 and 20 for the begun bhorta, per the recipe pages.
How to choose: the skin should be shiny and tight, the stem green, and the fruit heavy for its size. A soft, wrinkled one will be spongy and bitter.
Bhindi: dry it before you cut it
The bhindi masala recipe uses 500 g (1.1 lb) okra, and its prep note is the most useful thing in the whole listing: "washed, dried fully, trimmed and chopped". Okra that goes into the pan wet turns slimy. Pat each pod dry with a cloth, or wash it ahead and let it air-dry on a tray. Prep takes 15 minutes, cooking 25.
When shopping, snap the tip. It should break cleanly rather than bend. Smaller pods, around finger length, are generally more tender. <!-- VERIFY: size and snap tips are general produce guidance. -->
The gourd family: the confusing middle of the shop
This is where most readers get lost. Four different vegetables are all called "gourd" in English, and they look nothing alike.
Lauki (bottle gourd). Long, pale green, smooth and firm. It cooks into a soft, mild vegetable that takes on the spices around it, as in lauki chana daal: 200 g chana daal soaked 30 minutes, 15 minutes prep, 40 cook, serves 4.
Tori (ridge gourd). Green with sharp raised ridges running lengthwise. Peel the ridges, at least the hard edges, before cooking. Tori sabzi uses 500 g (1.1 lb), with onion and two tomatoes: 15 minutes prep, 25 cooking.
Tinda (apple gourd). Small, round, pale green and fuzzy. Looks like a small apple. Tinda masala is 500 g, 15 and 30 minutes.
Karela (bitter gourd). Warty, dark green and very bitter. It is a taste you either like or you do not, and karela masala spends 40 minutes on prep, usually salting and rinsing, before 30 of cooking. Do not skip that step if the bitterness bothers you.
A guide to what to buy if you can only find one
| You can find | You are out of | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Courgette (zucchini) | Tori | Texture is softer; cook less. Not the same flavour. |
| Bottle gourd | Tinda | Different shape; cook slightly longer. |
| Okra | Nothing to replace | Frozen okra works in a pinch but is softer. |
| Large aubergine | Baingan | Choose big round ones for bharta. |
<!-- VERIFY: substitutions are general cooking advice, not tested in our recipes. -->
Do not think of these as exact swaps. A courgette in a tori sabzi is a perfectly good dinner, just not tori.
Where to shop in the UK and US
Desi grocers will have all of these fresh most weeks, often in the same corner. Large supermarkets in the UK sell aubergine, okra and courgette routinely; tinda, tori and karela mostly turn up in Asian shops. In the US, Indian and Pakistani grocers carry the same list, and many Walmart or Kroger stores stock bitter melon and bottle gourd in the international aisle. Frozen karela and tinda exist too. <!-- VERIFY: regional availability varies by store; do not treat as a guarantee. -->
If you are cooking for the first time from this list, start with bhindi masala and aloo gobi. Both use plain vegetables you can find anywhere.
Keep your own cheat sheet
Screenshot the table above and keep it in your notes. If you want to see which of these vegetables you already have at home before you go out, the Degchi pantry tool lets you mark items as Have, Low or Out, with aliases for each name.
