Smoked Fish Pigeon Peas with Rice Recipe

Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture

1-19-2017

Pigeon peas originated in India and emerged around the year 2000 BC in Western Africa. Pigeon peas serve as a source of protein, carbohydrates for millions of people across the African continent.

Smoked Fish Pigeon Peas and Rice Recipe

African recipes by The African Gourmet

Easy Smoked Fish Pigeon Peas with Rice recipe from the kitchen of The African Gourmet

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min

Ingredients

5 pieces any type of smoked fish

2 cans canned pigeon peas

2 tablespoons palm oil or coconut oil

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 bay leaf

3 minced garlic cloves

1 large white onion, diced

2 large red tomatoes, diced

2 cups water

Salt and pepper optional

Directions

In a large pot, add all ingredients and mix well. Simmer about 3-hours stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

Weeding pigeon peas fields in Kenya Africa

Pigeon peas seedpods are flat and slightly wavey, sickle-shaped or straight measuring an average of 3 inches in length. Each pod can contain between 2 and 9 seeds which can be white, cream, brown, yellow, purple or black or mottled with any combination of these colors.

Pigeon peas are pulses, which are a type of leguminous crop harvested for the dry seed. Dried beans, lentils and peas are the most commonly known and consumed types of pulses. Recipes from across the world feature pigeon peas as the main ingredient with just as many health and environmental benefits:

· Pigeon peas are packed with nutrients and have high protein content, making them an ideal source of protein particularly in regions where meat and dairy are not physically or economically accessible.

· Pigeon peas are low in fat and rich in soluble fiber, which can lower cholesterol and help in the control of blood sugar.

· Pigeon peas have also been shown to help combat obesity.

· Pigeon peas can contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers.

· For farmers, pigeon peas are an important crop because they can be both sold and consumed by the farmers and their families.

· The nitrogen-fixing properties of pigeon peas improve soil fertility, which increases and extends the productivity of the farmland.

Making pigeon pea flour at home

Making Pigeon Pea Flour at Home

Everyone is used to flours made from wheat and corn, however, pigeon pea flour is not used in many recipes because it is not well-known. Pigeon pea flour, when mixed with other flours such as wheat, makes delicious loaves of bread.

Bread flour is used to make bread that has high protein content so during the bread-making process the bread will rise. Pigeon pea flour would fall into the specialties flour groupings such as Paleo baking flour and gluten-free flour.

Making pigeon pea flour is easy to make at home, you simply need a coffee grinder. For the most part, the amount of dried pigeon peas you put into the grinder is the amount of flour you will get. This means you will need to grind the amount of flour you need for a particular recipe plus a little more so you do not run out of flour halfway through making your recipe.

The length of time you will grind the pigeon peas depends on how course you want your flour to be, the longer you grind the finer your flour will become. If you want super fine flour, we suggest you use a food processor instead of a coffee grinder. Alternatively, one way of getting your flour finer is by sifting the pigeon pea flour through a fine mesh and then regrinding the larger bit that does not pass through.

The African Gourmet creates easy African food recipes for you to enjoy. Learn more about Africa.

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Meet the Author.

Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My mother is a historian of African culture and history and her influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.