Where the seeds came from
I bought the plant, put it in my garden, and it grew well. I got lots of potol and gave to many people. Everyone say it’s very tasty. It’s easy to grow. Three or four plants will grow into a big bush. You need to give it something to climb on.

Recipe
It tastes a little like beans. You can eat with fish, with other vegetables, or prawns. Clean it. Then fry onions, coriander, garlic, chili powder, turmeric and salt. Stir, then 3 or 4 minutes later add the potol. You don’t need to add water. It cooks in a few minutes.

Where the seeds came from
Lutfun from the farm gave me the seeds and so I said, “OK, lets try it.” She said it’s potol, but when I saw the seed I thought, “It’s not potol, it’s something else. Let’s see what happens.” When I saw the fruit growing, I thought, “Oh my god what is it, how can I eat this one?” I was scared about what the taste would be like. I didn’t have any idea what it is. The smell is a bit strong. I thought, “Let’s be brave and try it. What will happen?” One day I cooked it and it was really good.

How to grow
Growing it is easy, and it grows fast. It takes loads of space. It goes everywhere in my garden.

Why did you grow achocha/potol?
I first saw the plant at Spitalfields farm and I didn’t know what it is. I just liked the leaf. So I bought it and put it in my garden. Then I saw the vegetable, and I didn’t know what it was. Once day when I was working in my garden, there were two ladies talking with each other, saying “That is potol” and talking about how nice it tastes. I asked them what it is. They said, “It’s a Chinese vegetable. It tastes really yummy.” They told me how to cook it. That’s is how I learned about potol.

Where did the seeds come from?
I bought the plant as a seedling from Lutfun at Spitalfields farm.
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