Pigeon peas - now what?

[Scarlett]

Someone said I had to crack them and get two yellow split peas out but that doesn't seem to work. Do I just soak and boil 'em up as is?

[christopher zane hart]

Both young green pods with immature seeds and fully mature seeds are eatan . The young green pods can be treated in the same way as common peas . mature pigeon peas are usually dried and used as a pulse;thier sweet flavour makes them ideal for curries and vegtable soups . Peas can also be sprouted . Pigeon peas contain more minerals , 5 times more vitamin c than ordinary peas . Their protein content can be as high as 28% , making them an excellent food for vegetarians . EXTRACT FROM : ASIAN HERBS & VEGETABLES by PENNY WOODWARD.

[Scarlett]

ah thankyou Chris :)

[Anthony Foo]

Scarlett, soak them for a couple of hours, they look like they have come from brown or dry pods you can harvest as green pods and don't have to soak.
Cook for a little longer than any other peas they will be a bit nutty flavour wise.......
I used to do them all the time up Nth

[Donna]

Looking good Scarlett, I will have to look at when to plant these and a few other dried pulses (if they grow here) for myself!

[Scarlett]

thanks guys

[george s]

You done well harvesting your pigeon peas. Just soak them for two nigths, rinse two or three times and boil for short while.May be 10 minutes. If not tender boil longer. Use like lentils, chick peas or split peas. Add to salads, make dahl or homus (with tahini) .
Enjoy and eat slowly. With our variety we find occasionally a hard pea that didn't play the game.

[Scarlett]

I've got a whole giant bucket of them now! OK, two nights. (I still haven't cooked them - but then they'll be good for slow food in winter)

[Addy]

In the Indian grocery shops, split pigeon peas are sold as "toor dahl", and as George S says, used for dahl dishes - I find they have to be soaked overnight, then cooked for quite some time - do not add salt till after the lentils are soft. I find toor dahl firmer than channa dahl...

[Scarlett]

i don't mind - runny or stodgy, they're all good :)

i've seen toor dahl, that makes sense

the problem is how to split them...maybe they'll be easier to manage once they're thoroughly dry?

[Andrew Cumberland]

I'm in love with pigeon peas!  I just treat the buggers like a lentil.  I normally leave them on the tree until they are way dry and shell them.  You can soak them overnight like a split pea but I don't!

I picked some fresh pods today as well, and I'll muck about with them and report back - I suspect they are best used like a canned lentil. 

Thinking of them as a lentil rather than peas means that I will either dry them to store or use them in a soup/stew style dish.  Known as Toor Dal, the dried ones get mushy in a pressure cooker in about 15 minutes.  I did a vego pasta dish tonight that was a big hit.  

[Dave Riley]

We were feeding them to kindergarten kids yesterday during a school garden visit.Fresh picked with green pods.The greens are very versatile if you pick and freeze them and are sold as such in Indian grocers.

[Valerie]

Apparently they don't give the side effects you may get from lentils either. A real win-win.