Athalakkai (Momordica cymbalaria) is a wild gourd belonging to the cucumber family, popularly known as Little Wild Gourd. It is cherished for its small, spiny green fruits and its medicinal underground tuber (kilangu). This hardy plant grows naturally across Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India, especially during the rainy season.
Athalakkai has a pleasantly sharp bitterness, similar to bitter gourd, and is widely used in traditional South Indian dishes such as kulambu, poriyal, and pickles. In folk and Siddha medicine, the fruit and tuber are valued for their potential benefits for blood sugar regulation, liver health, and digestion, making it both a culinary and therapeutic ingredient.