Bangaña, Güira, or Calabacita guisada, a Dominican calabash recipe, is the kind of dish not as well-known in our cuisine. I share it to help you recreate a dish seldom found online or teach you new things about our cuisine. Get your apron ready and make this criollo dish.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Jan 23, 2024
Why we ❤️ it
If you are a hardcore fan of Dominican food, then this recipe is for you. This is an obscure tierra adentro dish that I grew up with. Calabacitas are a great way to bulk meat dishes - we call it "rendir".
What's calabaza/bangaña?
Calabaza - known in English as calabash, bottle gourd, birdhouse gourd, white-flowered gourd, and long melon - is a vine-grown vegetable that is grown for food or - when dried hollowed, and cleaned - used as a kitchen container or bowl.
In the Dominican Republic, calabash is known as calabaza, calabacita, bangaña and güira. The latter is the name of a traditional Dominican instrument, dry calabazas are used to make güiros, a musical instrument still in use in Puerto Rico.
Higüero, another type of gourd used to make kitchen bowls, is similar but not edible.
In Dominican cooking, calabacitas are typically used in guisados, and commonly cooked with pork in the same manner as tayota (chayote), cocombro, eggplants, and other vegetables.
Tayota guisada con longaniza (chayote and pork sausage).
Serving suggestions
Mami's favorite way to serve calabacita was with Arroz blanco or white rice and Habichuelas guisadas beans. I also goes great with Moro de habichuelas rojas, or Moro de guandules, and - of course! - a few slices of Dominican avocado and Tostones.
Top tips
- Where to buy: Curiously, you're more likely to find calabacitas outside the Dominican Republic if there's an Indian community where you live. Calabash is used in a popular Indian dish called lauki chana. In the Dominican Republic, it is grown in people's backyards and on a small scale in rural areas. We bought these at the farmer's market in Dajabón.
- Meatless version: To make a meatless version, check our recipe for Tayota con huevos, and use calabacita instead of tayota.
- Chuleta asada: You can use smoked pork chops (cubed) instead of longaniza and cook in the same manner.
- Substitute: Bottle gourd has a similar taste and consistency to zucchini, though smaller. You can use four medium zucchini if you can't find calabacitas.
About this recipe
While you can find in our collection of Dominican recipes all the best-known ones, we love sharing these obscure recipes rescued from our grandmas and moms' kitchens.
I grew up eating this dish often; calabacitas grew in our backyard and were easily available at the local farmers' market. However, once I moved outside my hometown, I have never seen them again. I wonder why they aren't more popular.
Have you tried calabacitas? Let me know in the comments!
Video
Recipe
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Calabacita o Bangaña Guisada [Video+Recipe] Bottle Gourd with Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound cooked longaniza, (pork sausage) [0.45 kg], sliced
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 calabacitas (bottle gourd)
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ½ teaspoon oregano (dry, ground)
- 1 teaspoon salt, (or more, to taste)
- 4 tablespoons minced parsley
Instructions
1. Peeling
Peel the gourds with a potato peeler and dice.
2. Browning the longaniza
- Heat the oil over medium heat.Add the longaniza and cook, stirring until it browns.
3. Cooking vegetables
- Once the longaniza is browned, lower heat to medium. Stir in onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook stirring for 30 seconds. Add the diced gourd and cook stirring for another 30 seconds, lower heat if it looks like it might burn. Season with pepper, and oregano and tomato sauce and stir.
4. Simmering
- Lower heat and simmer covered until the gourd is cooked through, stirring often to cook uniformly (soft, but not too mushy, it takes around 15-20 minutes). Once the gourd is fork tender, season with salt to taste and stir in the parsley. Remove from the heat.
5. Serving
Remove from the heat and serve.Find serving suggestions further above.
Cook's Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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More longaniza recipes
Longaniza recipes are some of the most popular meat recipes on our blog. Don't miss Locrio de longaniza, Asopao de longaniza, Longaniza guisada, Picalonga and many more.
References
- Wikipedia - Lagenaria siceraria
- Royal Academy of the Spanish Language - Güiro/a
- Permacultura Puerto Rico - Güiro
- Asociación Academias de la Lengua Española - Bangaña
- Instituto Dominicano para la Calidad - Bangaña
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