Pigeon Pea Curry

Pigeon peas are grown and eaten widely across the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, India and the Caribbean. They can be eaten fresh or left to dry and stored as a dry legume. I let mine dry on the plant and harvest them in one go. They’re kind of chewy with a bit of a nutty flavour. You could substitute dried lentils but they don’t have quite the same texture.

Ingredients:

~200g dried pigeon peas, soaked overnight

2 brown onions, sliced

olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 chillies, finely chopped

2 tsp curry powder

handful of curry leaves, chopped

handful of society garlic, chopped (optional)

1 can coconut milk (270ml)

juice of a lemon

coriander and chives, to serve

Method:

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add a good glug of oil, and the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic, curry powder, chilli and curry leaves and fry until fragrant. Add the pigeon peas and enough water to just cover. Simmer until soft (~ 1 1/2 hours). Add the coconut milk and continue simmering until reduced a bit.

Serve on rice, with fresh coriander and chives, poppadums and some silver beet sautéed with garlic and mustard seeds.