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Pigeon pea is a perennial legume and is cultivated in the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly known by the names: tur dal, arhar, and tuvaram.

Culinary Uses

It is used in several savoury dishes in India. It gives the dishes the binding and specific taste.

It is typically used in sambar, rasam, curries and dals, chutneys (thuvaiyals in South India) and some sweets.

It is said to contain high levels of protein and certain other required nutrition.

Other uses

It is used as animal feed in several parts of the world. Leaves, pods, and seeds are used to feed cattle. It is also a primary source of soil improvement.

Some of the other uses are as manure, firewood, fencing and rope fibre.

Historical significance

Some scholars have stated that it was cultivated around 14th century BCE in several parts of India.

Propagation and care

It is propagated with the seeds. It is a drought resistant plant and can handle different varieties of soil.

Its leaves are oblong and elliptical. It produces yellow flowers which could be with streaks of red/purple. Each pod can contain 2-9 seeds. Commonly seen to be light brown in colour, it can be white, yellow, brown, purple or even black.

It is grown across several states in India. It is a perennial shrub, it can grow to a height of 6 to 12 feet and lives for just 3-5 years.

Home gardening

1. Buy some fresh pigeon peas.
2. Remove seeds from the pod and soak it in water overnight.
3. Take a pot of about 16-20 inches wide and deep with multiple uniform drainage holes.
4. Fill the container with the soil.
5. Pick the soaked pigeon peas and plant it into the soil about 2 inches deep with the buds pointing upwards. Cover it well with soil. Sow 2 seeds at the centre of the pot about 2 inches apart.
6. Pour the water (in which pigeon pea was soaked) into the pot.
7. Keep the pot in indirect sunlight till it germinates. Once it germinates, move it to direct sunlight.
8. When pods are maturing, water daily. Otherwise, water only when the soil is a bit dry. 9.Check for insects/fungal/other infections.
9. Strong trellis support is required for this plant. A bamboo would be ideal.

Harvesting

• Some pigeon peas can be harvested within 90 days and some take 300 days.
• You can harvest when the pods are ripe and turned yellow. The plant itself is chopped.
• Leaves are also used for culinary purposes.
• Earlier hand pounding was common for removing the pea from the shell.
• Now, two methods are used: wet method and dry method
• Wet method process uses water soaking, sun drying and de-hulling
• Dry method involves oil/water application and drying in the sun before de-hulling.

Growing this plant can be a real learning experience.