Tengra is a name given to several species of catfish of the rivers and estuaries of India and Bangladesh. One of them is Mystus cavasius (Hamilton, 1822). a large scaleless fish found in Bangladesh, India and Burma. The fish is usually found in fresh water and are mostly available in rivers, canals, beels, ponds, ditches and inundated fields. It is good to ear and as a source of protein to the people of Bangladesh.

Tamarind. A sour-sweet fruit, sometimes known as the Indian date, used as a souring agent. It comes in long, dry brown pods which look almost like dried broad bean pods. Inside is a long, segmented fruit, like a long brown caterpillar. Each segment contains a hard, shiny black seed. As the pods dry the fruit becomes sweeter. A visitor from Mauritius suggested shaking the tamarind and, if you could hear that the fruit had detached and was rattling a little inside the pod, you would find that the fruit was sweet. All you need to do is to remove the pod and then chew the fruit, discarding the seeds. It is also available mashed and formed into a pulpy block or as a juice. In this form it is used like lemon juice.

Cape gooseberry. Physalis. Bitter-sweet, apricot-coloured berries enclosed in papery wraps.

A dish, originally from Gujarat, in which a number of different foods are served on a metal plate, from which the dish takes its name. Traditionally the sweet dishes are served to the right, the savoury to the left, and breads and rice in the centre. The little dishes on the thali are called katori.

Mangosteen. Lychee like, white, segmented flesh is surrounded by a hard purplish skin. This round fruit has four well-defined sepals.

Ivy gourd. A small crunchy gourd reminiscent of a gherkin, green ripening to red, popular in the cuisines of India, Thailand, Indonesia and other South East Asian countries. The shoots and leaves can also be eaten.