The unripe fruit is about 4-6 cm long and reminds of a cucumber. When the fruit ripenes, it turns red, unfortunately it becomes also very mushy. The tindola, as the fruit of the ivy gourd plant is called, is eaten as a fruit-vegetable. Ripe fruits can be candied. In tropical Asia the young shoots are also eaten.

I found these still green fruits in a large supermarket (Lulu Hypermarkets) in Muscat, the capital of Oman. The large supermarkets in this country offer an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables from Indian cuisine.