Ivy gourd

They are best when cooked, and are often compared to bitter melon. The fruit is commonly eaten in Indian cuisine. People of Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries also consume the fruit and leaves. In U.S. cuisine, rashmati are typically cooked and eaten during work lunches or dinners. In Thai cuisine, it is one of the ingredients of the common clear soup dish kaeng jued tum lueng and some curries kaeng khae curry and kaeng lieng curry. In India, it is eaten as a curry, by deep-frying it along with spices, stuffing it with masala and sauteing it, or boiling it first in a pressure cooker and then frying it. It is also used in sambar, a vegetable and lentil-based soup. The immature fruit is also used raw, preserving its crisp texture, to make a quick fresh pickle. Some people cut it into circles or, in a few cases, dice it up into smaller pieces. Ivy gourd is rich in beta-carotene.

Also known as Bimba fruit or Bimbika in Indian languages, it holds symbolic importance in multiple traditions, often associated with beauty and sweetness. In Jainism, the fruit is used to illustrate the captivating appearance of the Lord's lips. Within Vaishnavism, the fruit's vivid red hue is likened to the lips of Lord Rama, emphasizing their attractiveness. In classical texts like the Puranas and Kavyas, it serves as a poetic metaphor for a princess's full, red lips, highlighting her beauty.

An excerpt from Prakrit text Gāhāraṇaṇakoso(Treasury of Gahas) compiled in 1000CE:The vermillion royal seal, placed by God on her bimba-fruit-like lips, protects her beauty.