Vegetable pigeonpea – a review

Among sub-tropical legumes, pigeonpea or red gram (Cajanus Cajan (L.) Millspaugh) occupies an important place in rainfed agriculture. This crop has a wide range of uses and its use as fresh or canned green peas is common in parts of India, Africa, Central America and the Caribbeans. Vegetable pigeonpea is characterized by large pods and seeds because of easy shelling. Some parts of India prefer green pod colour but the study revealed that pod colour does not play an important role in determining the organo-leptic qualities of vegetable pigeonpea. The anti-nutritional factors like phyto-lectins are also present in pigeonpea, but it is heat sensitive and destroyed during cooking. Vegetable pigeonpea can be grown in backyards, field bunds and also as a commercial crop. The fresh seeds can also be frozen and canned for commercialization and export. The Dominican Republic stands first in exporting commercialized vegetable pigeonpea to United States and other countries. Vegetable pigeonpea is a good source of protein, vitamins (A, C, B complex), minerals (Ca, Fe, Zn, Cu), carbohydrates and dietary fibre. In comparison to green peas (Pisum sativum), the vegetable pigeonpea has five times more beta carotene content, three times more thiamine, riboflvin and niacin content and double vitamin ‘C’ content. Besides it has higher shelling percent (72%) than that of green peas (53%). These all factors indicate that pigeonpea is nutritionally rich vegetable and it can be used in daily cuisine