Moro de Guandules con Coco (Rice, Pigeon Peas & Coconut) is an amazing dish that comes from Samana and was happily adopted by all Dominicans.
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The first time I ate Moro de Guandules con Coco (Rice, Pigeon Peas and Coconut) I was 12, and I fell in love. It was all new to me, and I was smitten. That was my first trip to Samaná.
This rice and pigeon pea recipe is an obligatory addition to any special Dominican-style meal and is also part of our traditional Dominican Christmas dinner.
But let’s take a moment to talk about guandules (pigeon peas) because that is one of the most beloved ingredients in Dominican cuisine.
What are guandules?
Guandules (Cajanus cajan), and known in English as pigeon peas, are a type of legume native to the Indian subcontinent, and very popular in the Spanish Caribbean –and apparently also in South India (thank you Rajesh for the tip!).
The taste of guandules has been variously described to me as “nutty” or “ashy”. I would describe the taste more as “smoky”. The closest to another legume I can think of in terms of taste is mung beans.
Is it guandules or gandules?
Would you be shocked if I tell it’s… neither?
In one of those “How did that start?” cases, the neighboring countries of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic spell this differently. So what does the RAE (Royal Academy of the Spanish Language) say?
Gandul is used to describe “a lazy person”, “an ancient Moroccan soldier”, or “and an individual from certain primitive tribes”.
So, it is “guandul“!
Well, not so fast. That word is not listed in the RAE dictionary. A bit of research elucidates it: The proper word for one pea is guandú, not guandul, the plural then is actually guandúes –or guandús!
So, we’re all wrong.
But you go ahead and keep calling it whatever you did before, we’ll understand.
Guandules in the Dominican Rep, and Puerto Rico
As I mentioned above, Puerto Ricans love their guandules too. Here and there they are found, fresh, dried, and canned in every supermarket, market and corner store. Puerto Ricans also have their own Moro de “Gandules” recipe, but it does not include coconut, and they call it “Arroz con Gandules“.
There is not a corner of our Republic where guandules are not known. But in Samaná somebody had a stroke of genius: to combine pigeon peas with coconut. This is possibly a natural progression from the fact that Samaná is covered from corner to corner with coconut groves.
Another very popular pigeon pea recipe with coconut milk is Guandules con Coco.
About our recipe
This Moro de Guandules con Coco recipe (Rice, Pigeon Peas and Coconut) is full of flavor and the buttery goodness of coconut. As I am not from Samaná, this is one of those dishes that were not part of my family heritage. However, this has since become so popular, that I don’t think you can go anywhere in our country where this isn’t a dish served at home.
For this Moro de Guandules recipe, I went with the version of this dish I like most, but you’re likely to find many more ways to make it even in Samaná. If you have another way how to make Moro de Guandules, let us know in the comments.
Buen provecho!
Moro de Guandules con Coco (Rice, Pigeon Peas and Coconut) Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil , divided
- 1 teaspoon of finely chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup of chopped celery
- 1/8 cup of capers (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon mashed garlic
- 12 pitted olives cut into halves (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup of chopped cubanelle or bell peppers (1 pepper, aprox)
- 1 pinch of oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 3 cups pigeon peas (boiled or canned [amazon affiliate link])
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
- 2 cups of coconut milk
- 4 cups rice (medium grain, carolina, canilla [amazon affiliate link])
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 1 1/2 gl [6 lt] iron pot and add the cilantro, celery, capers, garlic, olives, thyme, peppers, oregano and salt and cook and stir for a minute. Add the peas, also while stirring. Once well heated, add water, tomato sauce and coconut milk and bring to a boil.
- Stir in rice and simmer over medium heat, stirring regularly and removing as much as you can of the rice that sticks to the bottom. When all the water has evaporated cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer over very low heat. Wait 15 minutes, uncover, stir in the remaining oil. Move the rice from the bottom to the top so it cooks uniformly. Cover again and simmer another 5 minutes.
- Uncover and taste. The rice should be firm but tender inside. If necessary, cover and leave another 5 minutes on very low heat.
Hello, I am Indian, and I live in the Dominican republic now. I have used your website for several dishes including Habichuelas con Dulce – much to the amazement of my Dominican friends and family. I came here looking for this recipe and glad you have it.
Just wanted to alert you that like me guandules came from South India. However, we use a dried version of it and it is used daily by over 200 million Indian people around the world. Wanted to say that DR and PR are not alone in their appreciation of Guandules..
Awesome! I learned something new today, thanks a lot for sharing.
We use and love these also in Panama. We actually make it with coconut milk and even the oil. Its called guandu in Panama. Congo pea, Angola pea, red gram — postmarks of its travels as it spread from eastern India to Africa and the Middle East. I believe the only common denominator in all the Latin American nations to the pigeons peas is Africa which probably were we got it from.
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! I made it this weekend, and both my husband and I absolutely loved the result. It was just as good as the pigeon pea rice we had at a fantastic Dominican place in Washington Heoghts neighborhood of NYC. I can’t believe I, a random Asian person with no tie to Dominican cuisine (other than my love of it, lol), managed to make a totally authentic-tasting Dominican dish at home. A few hours after dinner, we are still talking about how good it was.
I am glad you liked it!
Guandules are all the rage in Panama too, but they call them guandu (sp?). Every year when they’re available fresh that’s all people out in the campo talk about!
I love ur recipes,they are great! specially for people that are learning how to cook, YOU PUT EVERYTHING WITH DETAILS, that is important so the dish come to a perfection! thanks so much for sharing with us !
Just reading all of the makings to your recipes read great! I cannot wait to try some of them.