From mushy peas to exotic quinoa, UK shoppers are full of beans … and pulses

Some may like it hot, others may like it cold, but for many people pease pudding is the last thing they would order from the menu. Similarly, mushy peas have enjoyed something of a mixed reputation with those who enjoy a side with their fish and chips.

Now these two oft-unloved traditional British dishes – and the homegrown split and marrowfat peas from which they are made – are to be revived and championed in the first UK festival celebrating the “magic and variety” of dal.

Dal is any split pulse – the humble lentil, bean or pea – or pulse stew or soup, its best-known incarnation being the Indian comfort food and curry house favourite. The festival will showcase the huge variety of pulses now grown in the UK, such as fava beans and split yellow and green peas – all perfect ingredients for dal but which many people will never have thought to use.

In medieval times, dried beans and peas were a staple food and the main source of protein for most of the UK population, but as meat and dairy foods became more widely accessible pulses became stigmatised as the food of the poor. Now the recent shift towards so-called “clean” eating and veganism has meant that pulses, lentils, peas and beans are seeing something of a revival.



Source: theguardian

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