Rice and peas or peas and rice is a traditional rice dish in some Caribbean and Latin American countries. Kidney beans (red peas/beans) and other similar varieties are typically used to prepare the dish in the Greater Antilles and coastal Latin America. Sometimes, it is made with pigeon peas, otherwise called gungo peas by Jamaicans. Rice and peas recipes vary throughout the region, with each country having its own way(s) of making them and name(s)—with the two main ingredients being legumes (peas/beans) and rice, combined with herbs, spices and/or coconut milk.
History
Rice and peas, a one-pot Creole dish that originated in the Caribbean during the colonial era, includes a mixture of ingredients, cooking techniques and spices influenced by various ethnic groups in the region.
The Spanish, the first European arrivals to the Americas, contributed many peas/bean dishes and rice dishes. They also introduced Asian rice to the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as herbs and spices like garlic, thyme, onion, and oregano.West, Jean M. Kidney beans, another key ingredient, are thought to have originated in Peru around 8,000 B.C., and other native cultivars including black turtle beans, pinto beans, and lima beans used in the dish, were dispersed throughout the Americas by indigenous Amerindian tribes by 500 B.C., then later the Spanish and Portuguese, who introduced them to other parts of the world. Similarly, the Amerindians cultivated pimento, and they spread Capsicum chinense cultivars throughout the region, including Scotch bonnet and other peppers used in the dish.
The Africans who arrived during slavery and indentureship also influenced the dish, especially with the use of pigeon and cow peas. Along with the Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, Dutch and East Indians, they contributed to the introduction and cultivation of rice in the region. Pigeon peas (also called Congo or Angola peas), which originated in India and were domesticated there 3500 years ago, were also introduced by the Spanish and Portuguese, from Africa. Throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, they are referred to as gandule, guandules or guandu (Spanish and Portuguese), gungo (Jamaican Patois) and pwa kongo or pwa di bwa (French Creole)— which were possibly derived from Bantu dialects, ngungu or wandu (Kongo) and oanda (Angolan Kimbundu).
The name "rice and peas" was originally used by Jamaicans to identify the dish. In 1961, Frederic G. Cassidy said the dish had been referred to as Jamaica's coat of arms. The recipe is said to have spread throughout Central America, by enslaved and free Africans and Creoles who migrated to the area with British settlers, as well as merchants and labourers from Jamaica, between the mid-17th and 20th centuries.
Variations and similar dishes Caribbean
Jamaica
Rice and peas from Jamaica is one of the most popular variations from the region. It is typically eaten as a side dish, often accompanied with meats or seafood. Jamaican rice and peas has been introduced to other parts of the world by the diaspora, and is eaten in other countries outside of the Caribbean. In Jamaica, the dish is especially prepared on Sundays for dinner. Kidney beans and other similar cultivars like round reds are normally used to prepare the dish; however, pigeon peas (gungo peas) and Jerusalem peas (Phaseolus trinervius) are traditionally cooked during the Christmas season. Other ingredients include Scotch bonnet and pimento, which are native to the island, and long-grain rice, coconut milk, scallion, garlic, salt and pepper, and thyme. Sometimes, cured meat like corned pork or beef is added to rice and peas.
Cuba
Moros y cristianos (also called Moros), which means "Moors and Christians", and congri are Cuban variations. Both side dishes resemble and taste similar to Jamaican rice and peas and Haitian diri ak pwa or kongo; however, some of the ingredients are different. Moros is usually made with black beans, while congri is made with black or red beans— which represent the Islamic Moors, with the rice representing Christian Spaniards. The dish commemorates the Reconquista, and represents how both groups came to live together in the Iberian Peninsula after a long period of battle. According to Cuban historian and anthropologist Fernando Ortiz Fernández, congri was adopted from the Haitians who settled in Cuba during the Haitian Revolution. Other ingredients include onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato, bay leaf, cumin, oregano and salt. Sometimes, bacon or pork is added.
Belize
Belizean rice and beans is the national dish of Belize. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Mayans, who cultivated beans. Over time, influences from other ethnic groups who arrived in the country helped to develop the dish. The recipe originated from the Creole (Kriol) population i.e. British settlers who arrived with African slaves from Jamaica (Baymen), to cut logwood in the late 1700s and 1800s—later intermingling with mestizos and indigenous peoples. It is typically made with kidney beans, and served as a side dish. Other ingredients include garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, long-grain rice, paprika, onion and coconut milk. Salt beef, pigtail or bacon may be added. The dish is very similar to rice and peas from the Greater Antilles and Central American variations. The first Sunday in September is celebrated as National Rice and Beans Day in Belize.
Haiti
Diri ak pwa (also known as diri kole) is "rice and peas" in Haitian Kreyol. It is considered to be part of Haiti's national dish along with griot. It is typically made with red beans, black beans or pinto beans. The version with pigeon peas is called diri kole ak pwa kongo, and with lima beans, diri kongri. Haitian variations resemble other Greater Antillean variations. However, ingredients include epis (green seasoning) and/or parsley, thyme, scallion, onion, shallot, cloves, garlic, salt, black pepper, bell pepper, long-grain rice, oil/butter and piment bouc (Bahamian goat pepper) which is sometimes substituted with habanero or Scotch bonnet. Sometimes, coconut milk is added.
Dominican Republic
and moro de guandules con coco are two Dominican variation. It is eaten as a side dish, and both made with pigeon peas. The dish is traditional Dominican Christmas food. Moro de guandules is made with garlic, cubanelle, cilantro, long-grain rice, celery, red onion, stick oregano, and tomato paste. When coconut milk is added it is known as moro de guandules con coco. Both dishes may include, chicken bouillon, culantro and aji dulce. Moro de habichuelas rojas is the version made with kidney beans.
Puerto Rico
Arroz con gandules is Puerto Rico's national dish which is typically served with roasted pork.. It is an important part of Puerto Rican Christmas and special occasions. It is typically made with rice, pigeon peas, sazón (turmeric, cumin, coriander seeds, black pepper, annatto), olive oil, sofrito (bell peppers, cubanelle, cilantro, onion, garlic, aji dulce, culantro, and oregano brujo), alcaparrado (manzanilla olives, capers, and pimiento), banana leaf, broth, avocado leaf, bay leaf, tomato paste and mashed plantain or green banana. Salt pork, ham, bacon, salchichón (salami) or chorizo may be added. Other Puerto Rican rice and peas dishes are arroz junto, which consists of similar ingredients, and arroz mamposteao, which is usually made with kidney beans and similar ingredients, but the preparation is similar to Colombian calentao.
The Bahamas & Anguilla
The dish is known as peas n' rice, from which the Bahamian folk song "Mamma don't want no Peas n' Rice and Coconut Oil" is named. The main components of this dish are rice, pigeon peas, onion, sweet pepper, thyme, browning, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper and celery. Sometimes, pork (bacon/salted pork), lime juice and coconut milk are added. The texture of peas n' rice is different from Greater Antillean rice and peas, but more similar to the American Hoppin' John. It is slightly sweeter in flavour than Greater Antillean versions due to the use of tomato paste or ketchup. Peas and rice is the national dish of Anguilla, which is also made with pigeon peas, but is more similar in texture to Jamaican rice and peas (with gungo).
Lesser Antilles
Peas and rice (also peas n' rice), pigeon peas and rice or rice and beans is made in other Caribbean islands like Barbados, St Kitts, Grenada, St Lucia and Trinidad. Some of these variations have adopted Jamaica's rice and peas recipes over time, and pigeon peas are typically used. Another Caribbean variation is a traditional Creole dish of the Lesser Antilles called pelau — made mostly in Guadeloupe, Dominica, St Vincent, St Lucia, Trinidad, Grenada and the Virgin Islands. Pigeon peas or cowpeas are typically used, and meat is included. It is similar to cook-up rice from Guyana.
French Antilles
Riz et pois d'angole, riz aux pois du bois or diri pwa di bwa (rice and pigeon peas in French and Antillean Creole) is made in the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The dish is eaten during Christmas. The version with kidney beans is called riz haricots rouges (red bean rice) in Guadeloupe, or riz créole aux haricots rouges (Creole rice with red beans) in Martinique. In St Martin, the dish is also called pois et riz (peas and rice) or les gan-dules moro. These variations are similar to Greater Antillean rice and peas. Immigration to St Martin brought new recipes with red beans, black beans and black-eyed peas.
Netherlands Antilles (Leeward Antilles)
Antilliaanse arros moro (Antillean rice and beans) is typically made with kidney beans, and is eaten as a side dish in the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Other ingredients include tomato purée, long-grain rice, garlic, coriander, onion, stock, butter/oil and dark soy sauce or ketjap manis.
Latin America
Nicaragua & Costa Rica
Gallo pinto which means "spotted rooster" in Spanish, is a Central American variation made mainly in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It is the national dish of both countries, and is typically made with black or red beans in Costa Rica, while in Nicaragua red beans are used. In both countries, the dish may be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The historical origins of gallo pinto can be traced back to Afro-Caribbean people, specifically Jamaicans. In the 1800s, Jewish Jamaicans, most notably the Lindo brothers who were merchants and planters, migrated to Costa Rica and established businesses in agriculture (coffee, sugar, rice, banana and other produce).
According to the book Mamita Yunai by Carlos Luis Fallas, Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans worked together on banana plantations, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica where gallo pinto was a staple dish— introduced by emancipated African slaves from Jamaica, who worked on the banana plantations too. As such, Nicaraguans took the Caribbean recipe back to Nicaragua, while Costa Ricans brought the recipe to the Central Valley and made it a traditional meal there. Further, the Jamaican Jews who arrived in the 19th century, integrated with the local population and settled in Cartago, San Jose and Puerto Limon. Many Afro-Jamaicans also went to Costa Rica to work in the construction of the Atlantic Railroad and port— thus, they brought their culture, dialect and culinary practices with them, including rice and peas. It is also believed that Afro-Jamaicans and Creole-Jamaicans who settled in coastal Nicaragua (Mosquito Coast) during the mid-17th, 18th and 19th centuries contributed the dish to coastal Central America.
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