Pigeon Pea

The pigeon pea, Cajanus cajan, is a perennial legume of the family Fabaceae native to the Eastern Hemisphere and grown across tropical and subtropical regions; its scientific and common names trace to the Malay word katjang, meaning legume. Scholars debate its origin between the Nile river region and West Africa on one side and India on the other, though India is generally considered its primary center of origin, with West Africa a secondary one. It is one of the most popular pulses in India, a primary protein source in vegetarian diets across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and global production reaches about 4.49 million tons a year, with India accounting for roughly 63 percent of output and 72 percent of the land planted.