Beans & Grains Glossary

Page 5: Terms With M ~ P

Here are terms including polenta plus navy, pinto, pigeon and red beans. If you’d like to suggest additional words, use the Contact Us link on this page. See our 60 other food glossaries.

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MANIOC

See cassava.

MASOOR DAL or ORANGE/SPLIT RED LENTILS or ULUNDHU

Lentils originated in southwestern Asia along the Indus River, and have been eaten for more than 8,000 years. They are a staple food for many South Asian cultures. Split red lentils have a delicate, nutty taste and are commonly used in India to make spicy dals. They cook very quickly, and are easy to digest. In the West, these lentils are used in soups, stews, bakes, sauces for pasta and salads.

Red Chief lentils available at Amazon.com.

MOONG DAL or DHULI MOONG or YELLOW LENTILS WITHOUT SKIN or PAYATHAM PARUPPU

These are whole yellow lentils (moong) that are split and hulled. Native to India, they are tiny cylindrical seeds, easy to cook and to digest (in Ayurveda, split moong dal is recommended for children, elderly people and convalescents as it is easily digested). The whole moong beans and split ones are quite different and seldom interchangeable. Their preparation is similar to masoor dal, the split red lentils.

NAVY BEAN or YANKEE BEAN

Navy Beans The navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is a pea-sized, off-white, oval bean, about 3/8-inch long. It is so-named because it has been a staple food for the U.S. Navy since the mid-1800s in soups, pork and beans and other bean dishes (it absorbs flavor easily, so it works well in soups). It is related to the kidney bean and is the most widely known bean in the white bean family. Navy beans have a mild flavor and mealy texture.

Navy beans available at Amazon.com.

PEA

Peas (photo at top of page) are a member of the legume family, the seed or seed-pod of the legume Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. It is botanically a fruit because the seeds are contained inside the pod, although like other savory fruits (cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini) it is treated like a vegetable in food preparation. There are many varieties of peas, including cowpeas, pigeon peas, snow peas and snap peas, which are available fresh, frozen or canned; peas are also grown to produce dry peas like the split pea.

PIGEON PEA

Pigeon Peas The Pigeon pea (Cajanus indicus) is a bean native to Africa that is now widely used in Caribbean and Southern American cooking. These small beans grow in a long, twisted, fuzzy pod. They are about 1/4 inch round and have a beige color with light brown speckles; color fades with cooking. The flavor is pungent, the texture is mealy texture. They are also known as caja pea, Congo pea, gandule, goongoo pea and toor dal.

Pigeon peas available at Amazon.com.

PINTO BEAN

An oval, beige-colored bean distinguished by its tan splotched surface. It is popular in Mexican dishes including chili, refried beans, rice and beans, soups and stews.

Photo of pinto beans by Scott Bauer, U.S.
Agricultural Research Service.

POLENTA

Polenta is simply coarsely-ground corn, also known as cornmeal, that is cooked with stock or water. It is known in America as cornmeal mush. See also grits.

PULSE

See legume.

Polenta available from Amazon.com.

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