Sundakkai, bhurat in Hindi, is turkey berry, a prickly shrub whose clusters of pea-sized green berries are a bitter vegetable in South India and Thailand. Tamil homes salt, soak in buttermilk and sun-dry them into sundakkai vathal, then fry them for vatha kuzhambu. Fresh berries go into sambar and Thai green curry. It is a relative of brinjal.
- Botanical name
- Solanum torvum Sw.
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Tamil
- Sundaikkai
- Hindi
- Bhurat
- Sanskrit
- Brihatī-bheda
- Parts used
- Unripe fruits, Sometimes leaf and root in lists
- Habit
- Prickly shrub bearing clusters of small green berries
- Last updated
- 2026-10-30
How to recognise Sundaikkai
It is a shrub, often two to three metres tall, with scattered prickles on stems and leaf veins.
The leaves are large, lobed and softly hairy, especially underneath.
White, star-shaped flowers with yellow anthers grow in clusters.
The fruits are round, green berries about a centimetre across, in bunches, ripening yellow.
Brinjal has much larger single fruits.
Traditional use of Sundaikkai
Kitchen
Sundakkai vathal, dried turkey berries, are fried and cooked into vatha kuzhambu.
Tamil food practice
Kitchen
Fresh berries are added to sambar and to Thai green curry as makhuea phuang.
Tamil and Thai food practice
Farming
It is used as a hardy rootstock for grafting brinjal and tomato.
Horticultural practice
Modern notes on Sundaikkai
The berries contain solasodine and other glycoalkaloids that give them bitterness.
Its resistance to soil diseases makes it a valued rootstock.
It is invasive in parts of the Pacific and the southern United States.
Sundaikkai safety
Eat only the green berries, cooked or properly dried; do not eat the leaves. Wear gloves to avoid the prickles.
Ecology and sourcing
It is native to tropical America and now grows across the tropics.
Bees buzz-pollinate its flowers.
Birds spread its seeds.
It grows on roadsides and waste ground in warm, wet regions.
Related plants
Also in Solanaceae
Questions about Sundaikkai
What is sundakkai vathal?
Salted, buttermilk-soaked and sun-dried turkey berries.
Is Sundaikkai related to brinjal?
Yes. Both are Solanum species.
Why is Sundaikkai bitter?
It contains glycoalkaloids.
Can Sundaikkai be used as a rootstock?
Yes, for brinjal and tomato.
Is Sundaikkai used in Thai food?
Yes, in green curry.
How is vathal made?
Berries are slit, soaked in salted buttermilk for a few days, then sun-dried.
Sources
- Solanum torvum Sw. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q978609 (Solanum torvum)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.