Kidney beans

Kidney bean helps in functioning of brain cells and kidney

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GEEK TALK

Phaseolus vulgaris

BUT WE TALK

Pinto beans, navy beans, red bean,
Rajma, and common bean

DID YOU KNOW?

Kidney bean is also called chili bean due to its dark red color and named as kidney bean since its shape quite similar to that of a human kidney. Its ability to absorb the flavors of the seasoning used in food makes it ideal for cooking simmered dishes. Kidney beans contain no cholesterol and provide nutrition similar to that of potato.

 

Like all legumes, kidney beans benefit from bacteria (rhizobia) that live in nodules along with their roots. These bacteria draw nitrogen from the soil and convert it into a form that the plant uses as a nutrient.

 

Kidney beans are excellent sources of proteins with full source of amino acids, B-vitamins, potassium, magnesium, sodium & other minerals.

KITCHEN PHARMACY

  • Kidney beans can help lower your cholesterol due to high fiber content
  • Kidney beans can help lower your risk of developing heart disease due to its high folate content
  • Kidney beans also contain thiamine or Vitamin B1, which is critical for the proper functioning of the brain cells. They, thus help in improving the memory power, and in reducing the Alzheimer’s disease
  • Kidney beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and look exactly like human kidneys
  • Beans, squash, and maize constitute the “Three Sisters” that provide the foundation of Native American agriculture.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

Kidney beans originated in Peru and the Indian traders who had migrated to Peru brought these beans for trading purposes. From India, these beans spread to the whole of South and Central America.

Top producers are India, Brazil, Myanmar, China & the US.

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Green Gram

Green gram is rich in fiber and low on calories making it ideal for weight reduction

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GEEK TALK

Vigna radiate

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Mung Beans, Moong Dal, nga choy, Pojo, Golden gram & Mungo

DID YOU KNOW?

The green gram is one of the most wholesome legumes and is much easier to digest than many other whole lentils. It is consumed whole (with the green ‘skin’) and in the form of split seeds (pale yellow lentils).

 

The dried seeds are ground into flour after removal of the seed-coat and used in various Indian and Chinese dishes. The green pods are eaten as a vegetable. In China and the United States, it is used for bean sprouts. The sprouted beans are highly nutritious.

 

Green grams are a good source of Vitamins A, B, C & E, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and amino acids. Green grams contain 20% protein and are a good source of folate and dietary fiber.

KITCHEN PHARMACY

  • Green gram contains a very low amount of calories that helps in maintaining body weight
  • Mung bean is highly rich in fiber content and vitamin C. It has low sodium and high potassium level helps to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
  • The antioxidant effect of vitamin C content of green grams helps to correct many vision-related disorders.
  • Flour of the green gram is an excellent detergent and can be used as a substitute for soap. It removes the dirt and does not cause any skin irritation. Ancient Indian beauty traditions incorporated green gram flour as part of daily skin maintenance.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

Green Gram is native to India and was introduced early into China, Africa, and the US. Now, the largest producers are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Thailand.

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Chickpeas

Chickpea is an iron source and is an effective cleansing agent

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GEEK TALK

Cicer arietinum

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Bengal gram, Channa, Kondai kadalai, sanagalu & calavance

DID YOU KNOW?

It is one of the earliest cultivated legumes: 7,500-year-old found in the Middle East. Chickpea is the world’s second-largest cultivated legume. India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of chickpea, accounting for over 66% of world production.

 

It is a dry-season legume that grows well on the residual moisture of the post-rainy season, providing a unique opportunity of enhancing legume production in developing countries and this feature gives farmers a second increasing income by planting the second crop.

 

Chickpea is generally consumed whole, split or ground to a flour or paste. Chickpea by-products or waste such as low-grade chickpea, culled chickpeas, chickpea husks, chickpea hay, and straw are used for animal feed.

 

They are a good source of folate and protein. Folate is water-soluble Vitamin B, which reduces the risk of colorectal cancer. Chickpeas are also a rich source of calcium equivalent to Yogurt and it also contains minerals.

KITCHEN PHARMACY

  • Anemia: – Fresh juice of Bengal gram leaves is a very rich source of iron. It is, therefore beneficial in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia.
  • Skin and Hair Disease: – Flour of the un-roasted Bengal gram is a very effective cleansing agent and its regular use as a cosmetic cleanses the skin

RECIPES USING THIS INGREDIENT

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Black Gram

A source of fiber, black gram is believed to prevent nervous and digestive system disorders

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GEEK TALK

Vigna mungo

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Urad dal, Ulatham Paruppu, Negro gramo, Ivory lentil, MASHA(Ayurvedic texts)

DID YOU KNOW?

Black gram could just as easily have been called White gram because it is black on the outside and white on the inside as the photograph on the right will show.

 

The whole black lentil is a major ingredient of the ubiquitous Dal Makhani of Punjab (and the famed Tasty Bite Madras Lentils) and the split white lentil is used for the famous South Indian breakfast food – Idly.

 

Black gram is rich in protein containing 26% almost three times that of cereals.

 

The combination of ‘dal-chawal’ (lentils & rice) or ‘dal-roti’ (lentils & wheat flatbread) is an important part of the average Indian diet, because of the complementary relationship of the essential amino acids such as arginine, leucine, lysine, isoleucine, valine, and phenylalanine, etc.

KITCHEN PHARMACY

  • Believed to help prevent nervous & digestive system disorders.
  • Good source of dietary fiber and a good source of iron and protein.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

India is the largest producer and consumer of Black gram in the world. The only other countries that grow it are Australia and Myanmar.

Image courtesy: Thamizhpparithi Maari / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

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Black-eyed Peas

Black-eyed pea prevents osteoporosis, heart disease and some cancers.

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GEEK TALK

Vigna unguiculata

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Black-Eyed Bean

DID YOU KNOW?

A subspecies of the cowpea, black-eyed peas make a delicious side dish or a great compliment to salads or soups. Black-eyed peas are very popular in southern U.S. cuisine and the most common variety is the California black-eye, which is pale-colored with a large black spot, or eye.

 

The pea easily mutates creating many varieties sometimes with the spot being brown or purple and growing black-eyed peas are believed to be very beneficial to the soil.

 

Black-eyed peas are believed to bring good luck as many eat them on New Year’s or Rosh Hashanah, believing they help bring future prosperity.

KITCHEN PHARMACY

  • Black-eyed peas are believed to help lower bad cholesterol and have even been linked to helping prevent osteoporosis, heart disease, and some cancer types.
  • It remains an excellent source of fiber and iron.
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Red Gram

Red Gram is known to enrich the soil it grows in.

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GEEK TALK

Cajanus cajan

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Pigeon Pea, Toor dhal, Tuvaranm parappu, (Tam.) Congo pea & kandi pappu (Tel.)

DID YOU KNOW?

Red grams/Pigeon peas are one of the important pulses in India. They are both a food crop (dried peas, flour, or green vegetable peas) and a forage/cover crop. The fresh leaves are used as a vegetable.

 

Red Gram is widely known for its use as food in the form of immature pods, immature seeds, and the mature seeds. The seeds are used whole, dehulled, or ground to a flour.

 

In the Caribbean, people often eat the seed as the green (immature) pea, but it is mostly processed into a dried split-pea (“daal”). The dried husks, seeds and broken dhal are used as cattle feed in India.

 

In India, Pigeonpeas are blended with lentils to make daal, a popular soup-like lentil dish. African cuisines often prepare pigeon peas with coconut broth and peppers and in Ethiopia, the young shoots and leaves are cooked and eaten.

 

Pigeon pea is originated from Asia and traveled to Africa.

 

Pigeon peas contain high levels of protein and important amino acids such as methionine, lysine, and tryptophan. Research has shown that the protein content of the immature seeds is of a higher quality.

 

In combination with cereals, pigeon peas make a well-balanced human food.

 

Pigeonpea is considered an environmentally beneficial plant as it can enrich the soil and also used for intercropping and agroforestry to shade young coffee trees and forest seedling nurseries as a windbreak. It is also an ideal foraging crop for honeybees.

KITCHEN PHARMACY

  • Inflammation: The leaves of the plant are effective in all inflammatory conditions.
  • A poultice made with the seeds will also reduce swelling.

RECIPES USING THIS INGREDIENT

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Brown Lentils

Brown lentils stop diarrhea, reduces the risk of heart disease and regulates blood sugar

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GEEK TALK

Lens esculentus

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Egyptian Lentil

DID YOU KNOW?

Coming from Central Asia, lentils are a tremendously healthy food and brown lentil is the most common type. Brown lentils range from a light brown coloring to black and are known to have a somewhat earthy taste.

 

They are typically round or oval-shaped and brown lentils specifically are noted for holding its shape when being cooked. The common varieties of brown lentils are Spanish brown, German brown and Indian brown and all types are relatively quick to cook.

KITCHEN PHARMACY

  • Brown lentils help the digestive tract greatly and are helpful for stopping diarrhea.
  • Brown lentils are a great source of energy and help reduce heart disease risk and help regulate blood sugar.
  • They are an incredible source of fiber as well as iron, folate, and magnesium.
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