The most common vegetables on Western supermarket shelves will probably include potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, but there's a whole fantastic world of veg out there. With exceptional flavours, colours and textures, take a look at 27 of the most amazing vegetables from around the globe.

Karela, also known as bitter gourd or melon, can often get a bad rep due to its distinctly, well, bitter taste. However, once the seeds are removed and it's cooked down, karela softens in flavour and is great in sabzi (a vegetable dish), curries and stir-fries. It's got roots in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.

This small green squash-like vegetable looks a lot like it could be a type of apple and is indeed sometimes known as an apple gourd. But tinda is very much its own vegetable with a mild flavour and tender, moist flesh which makes it perfect for pairing with punchy spices and aromatics in curries and stews. It's native to India and most popular in South Asian cooking.

What would you say if we told you cacti weren’t only pretty, but also delicious too? Nopales refer to the edible pads of the prickly pear cactus, most commonly enjoyed in Mexico in salsas, stir-fried dishes and salads, but can also be eaten raw. Known for its crunch and notes of citrus when raw, nopales take on the texture of green beans or asparagus when cooked and tastes a little like green peppers.

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This light and refreshing white radish is tasty eaten raw and pickled as well as cooked. Also known as daikon, it has a more subtle peppery flavour compared to some radishes. You might grate it raw into salads, serve it pickled alongside rich meats, simmer in curries or include it in stir-fries. Popular across many Asian countries, mooli is also renowned for being high in vitamin C.

Get the recipe for steak salad with shallots, pickled walnuts and mooli here

Ramps are a wild leafy onion, similar to spring onions, and found in North America in spring. A hybrid of a spring onion and wild garlic, ramps take on both of these flavours and can be used in any dish one might use spring onions, garlic or chives. Like onions, ramps are rich in vitamin A and C and contain many minerals. If you're able to get your hands on the vegetable, it's delicious grilled or raw in salads, or even made into a homemade pesto.

Indigenous to North America, Jerusalem artichokes aren't artichokes at all – in fact they're part of the sunflower family. This small, knobbly tuber with an earthy, nutty flavour is excellent pretty much any way you cook it: roasted, fried or blended into soup are top options. Treating them as you would potatoes or parsnips is a good rule of thumb.

Get the recipe for Jerusalem artichoke soup here

With a mild pepperiness and sweetness, this bulbous vegetable, native to northern Europe, is tasty eaten both raw and cooked. Popular grated in salads and slaws, the flavour of kohlrabi changes as it grows. When the vegetable is small and young, it tends to be sweeter and develops a sharper and peppery flavour as it matures. Don't fancy it raw? Sauté it with garlic and chilli flakes for a moreish side dish or roast until tender and stir through stews.

Get the recipe for kohlrabi and fennel slaw here

Small, knobbly and sometimes bright pink in colour, this South American tuber has a similar starchy and creamy texture to potatoes when cooked and is popular in New Zealand where it's known as yams. It can be treated similarly to other small potatoes and is delicious boiled, roasted or fried as a side or in a hot salad, with its slightly acidic flavour lending itself to herbs and spices like thyme and smoked paprika.

These heirloom radishes have a distinctly earthy and hot flavour, and are more peppery and bitter when raw than other radishes – although this softens on cooking. They take two to three times longer to mature than its more common red sibling and are characterised by the striking contrast of coarse, black skin and crisp white flesh. Believed to have been first cultivated in ancient Egypt then the eastern Mediterranean, black radishes lend themselves well to rich umami flavours like miso and are great roasted, pickled or raw.

Also known as cassava or yuca, this tuber is native to South America but also appears as a common ingredient throughout parts of Africa and Asia. The plant itself is a shrub and the sweet and nutty roots are harvested and cooked in many different ways. It's turned into flour, roasted, boiled or fried, or used for soups and stews. Popular West African dish fufu is often made with cassava which has been boiled, pounded and shaped into balls.

Native to Mexico and eaten throughout Central America, this crisp white-fleshed tuber is also known as yam bean or Mexican potato. Jicama is nutty and slightly sweet in flavour, with some often saying it’s like a cross between a potato and a pear. Although it's great when lightly stir-fried or roasted, we love the sound of this traditional street food snack: raw jicama is cut into baton shapes and sprinkled with lime juice and chilli.

Making a short but sweet appearance in spring, fiddleheads are the coiled fronds of young ferns, with a grassy flavour similar to asparagus or green beans. Rich in potassium and omega 3, they're as good for you as they are fun to look at. Treat the vegetable delicately when cooking: sauté, flash-fry or steam with citrus like lemon and lime, salt and good-quality olive oil.

Romanesco looks like a cross between broccoli and cauliflower, and its flavour and texture are similar to both too. It's quite dense like cauliflower, but tastes more like broccoli – quite mild, sweet and nutty. Thought to have originated from Italy, the cruciferous vegetable is pretty versatile and is great cooked most ways, but sometimes simple is best to let it shine: roasted with good-quality olive oil and sprinkled with Parmesan to serve.

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Abundant around the UK's coastline, samphire is salty, crisp and fresh. It's in season between late spring and late summer and is the perfect accompaniment to fish and seafood. When preparing the bright green stalks, wash thoroughly to get rid of any grit. To retain the best flavour, blanch samphire quickly and toss in a little melted butter. Or try deep-frying it in tempura batter.

Get the recipe for roast hake, samphire and tomato salad here

Also known as Chinese broccoli, gai lan is thick-stemmed and leafy, with small florets. Widely eaten in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, it has a slightly bitter and earthy taste that mellows once cooked. Chinese broccoli is delicious stir-fried, either with other vegetables or noodles, or as a side with plenty of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and ginger.

These deep plum heirloom carrots are often grown in the US for their subtle sweet and almost spicy flavour. Although the flesh of dragon carrots is the same orange colour as standard carrots, they’re known to have an earthier and more herbal taste. Eat them raw and roasted, with robust spices like cumin, paprika and curry powder.

Get the recipe for roast rainbow carrots with herbed yogurt here

Chinese leeks grow wide and flat, and have a mildly garlicky flavour. They're most fragrant eaten raw and are often added to salads and dressings or used as a garlic substitute. Ground with other aromatics like chilli and Chinese five spice, Chinese leeks are also a great ingredient to take homemade chilli oil to the next level.

Also known as bhindi and lady’s fingers, this small, green, chilli-shaped vegetable is known for its sweet, grassy flavour. It’s originally from Africa, but is also a staple in Caribbean, Indian and Pakistani cooking. Okra is best eaten fried, grilled or stewed and lends itself to punchy aromatics and spices like garlic and coriander. As okra cooks, its seeds release a viscous liquid which is often used to thicken soups and stews.

Get the recipe for roast okra with spicy tomatoes here

The stem of the lotus flower, lotus root is hiding a beautiful secret. Not much of a looker from the outside, when sliced, it reveals a distinctive flowery pattern. It's popular used in stir-fries due its crunchy and starchy texture, and mild sweet flavour. You could also thinly slice and bake into crisps or simmer in soup and stews, where it becomes more chewy.

Originating in Southeast Asia, taro root is an incredible source of fibre, carbohydrates and vitamins. With a round tough outer skin and pale white flesh with dark speckles, taro has a surprisingly sweet flavour with a vanilla-like fragrance. When powdered, taro root has sugar-like properties and is often used to make sweet teas.

Mashua is a squat-looking tuber traditionally eaten in South America, particularly Peru, Columbia and Bolivia. The colour of mashua differs from whites to oranges, and although looks closer in shape and colour to other root vegetables like carrots or parsnips, actually tastes more like a radish. Its distinct peppery flavour sometimes has a subtle heat, and to some, can taste a little bitter. Mashua root is great pickled or added to salads for a fresh aniseed crunch. The leaves are also edible and have a similar flavour to mustard leaves.

Also known as asparagus beans or Chinese long beans (and technically a legume), yardlongs are, well, really long green beans. In fact, they can grow up to three feet-long (0.9m), although they’re often eaten before they mature to full length. It's possible to eat them raw but yardlongs intensify in flavour (which is similar to green beans) when they’re cooked and are best stir-fried or deep-fried.

Makhuea refers to a variety of different aubergines grown in Southeast Asia, which are often small, round and green. Also known as Thai aubergines, they have a mild, slightly bitter taste and are crunchy in texture. If you get your hands on some, try makhuea raw in a fragrant salad, or add as a meat substitute in a curry.

Get the recipe for makhuea tom yum here

Kan jong is part of the moringa plant and refers to the long green drumsticks that are harvested and have a mustard-like flavour. It becomes similar to okra when prepared and cooked, and due to its heat and flavour profile, is often eaten with sour and spicy dishes, either fried or added to curries.

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The mother plant of kan jong and known as the drumstick tree or horseradish tree, moringa has so much to offer – almost every part is edible. Moringa leaves are dried to produce tea and also crushed to make a powder. Add it to smoothies and dishes to give food an extra boost of vitamins and minerals.

Originating from Mesoamerica, chayote is a crisp, juicy vegetable that resembles a large knobbly pear. Part of the squash family, it has a mild delicate flavour, often compared to cucumber but with a tougher, crisper flesh. The vegetable can be eaten both raw and cooked, and is a delicious substitute for squash in stews and traybakes.

These deep purple sweet potatoes from the US are as delicious as they are striking. With more dense and dry flesh compared to orange sweet potatoes or yams, Okinawan sweet potatoes also have a more mild and delicate sweetness. The deep purple colour is a result of the antioxidant-rich anthocyanin that is also responsible for the colour of red cabbage and berries. Try them baked with butter, mashed, chipped and stewed.

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