Saba Pigeon Pea Stew is a traditional Saban recipe for a classic stew of pigeon peas and pumpkin in a herbed and spiced coconut milk base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Saban version of: Saba Pigeon Pea Stew.
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Ingredients:
400–500g of pigeon peas (fresh, frozen or canned)
2 tbsp of olive oil or coconut oil
2 tbsp of brown sugar
250ml coconut milk
125–250ml water
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 hot chillies, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
200g peeled and chopped pumpkin
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 leaves of chadon beni (culantro) chopped
2 cives (Welsh onions), chopped
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1–2tsp treacle (molasses)
Method:
Set a large pan over medium high heat then add your oil. Once the oil is hot add the brown sugar, letting it caramelize to the point where it’s nice and dark, bubbling and starting to smoke (this takes a few minutes). Note that there is a fine line between caramelising and burning it. Burning it will result in a very bitter tasting dish. As a result it's best to err on the side of caution when you first do this, adding some treacle (molasses) to the dish to get a darker colour.
Once the oil and sugar are caramelised and bubbling carefully add in your pigeon peas (be cautiously here as the caramel likes to spatter and can burn really badly). Stir the pigeon peas really well, cover the pan and let them simmer for a few minutes, stirring and checking them every so often. If they are not as brown or dark as you would like them add some molasses and stir well to combine.
Now increase the heat to high for a minute or two, stirring well and constantly until most of the moisture has evaporated away — this takes only a minute or two with the peas.
Once the mixture mostly dry, add in your vegetables and aromatics (chillies, onions, garlic, tomatoes, pumpkin, cive, chadon beni and thyme). Fry them for a minute.
Mow add the coconut milk and water (at this point you can add the whole hot chilli, remembering to avoid piercing it otherwise it won’t be the flavour you get, it’ll be heat) stir well and bring to a boil and once boiling reduce to a simmer and let the ingredients simmer together for 20–30 minutes until peas are tender and the pumpkin has essentially melted into the stick. Feel free to add in a little extra water if needed
