Pigeon Pea

Pigeon pea is a perennial shrub, usually grown as an annual or short-lived crop, that reaches 1 to 4 metres tall. It has trifoliate leaves, yellow flowers, and flat pods holding three to five round or slightly flattened seeds. The seeds may be cream, brown, grey or mottled and are about 5 millimetres across. They have a mild, slightly nutty and earthy flavour. Deep taproots help the plant survive dry spells and bring up nutrients from the subsoil, and as a legume it also fixes nitrogen, improving the soil.

Pigeon pea was domesticated in the Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago. It spread to East Africa and then West Africa, and from there to the Caribbean and Americas. India is the leading producer and consumer, with significant production in Myanmar, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. It is a major crop in semi-arid regions and is often intercropped with sorghum, millet or maize.

Evidence of pigeon pea use in India dates back several thousand years,, and its early spread westward is debated. It reached the Americas through the Atlantic slave trade, and the name pigeon pea is thought to come from its use as pigeon feed in Barbados.

Today, pigeon pea is one of the most important pulses of the tropics. In India, toor dal is eaten daily in dishes such as sambar and dal tadka. In Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic gandules are cooked with rice for arroz con gandules, a holiday dish. Research institutions have worked to breed short-duration and disease-resistant varieties, helping smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia.

Dried pigeon peas are split to make toor dal, cooked into soups, sambar and curries, and served with rice or flatbread. Fresh green pigeon peas are cooked in stews, rice dishes and vegetable preparations in the Caribbean and East Africa, and are sold canned or frozen. Whole dried seeds are simmered in soups and stews, and ground into flours in some cuisines. Plant stems are used as firewood and fodder. Dried peas need soaking and thorough cooking; split dal cooks faster, usually in 30 to 45 minutes.

Pigeon peas supply plant protein, fibre, folate, thiamine, potassium, magnesium and iron, while being very low in fat. Combined with grains such as rice, they provide a complementary range of amino acids, which is why the pairing is so central in many traditional diets. The fibre content slows digestion and contributes to a lower glycaemic response. As with other pulses, soaking and thorough cooking reduce antinutrients and improve digestibility.