Stew Chicken with Pigeon Peas

I ate pigeon peas growing up in Trinidad.  When I asked my girls to try pigeon peas, they wanted to find out why it was called pigeon peas.  I could not even come up a with plausible answer that would satisfy them.  I googled a bit but could not find the origins of the name.

I like adding pigeon peas to stews as they don't go mushy quickly.  In this recipe from Simply Trini Cooking, I used frozen fresh pigione peas that I prepared according to the package prior to adding to the stew.  Of course with any stew, I like to toss in other vegetables such as carrots and mushrooms.

Stew Chicken with Pigeon Peas
Printable recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken (chopped and seasoned)
10 ounces pigeon peas (fresh)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 leaves big leaf thyme
2 leaves chadon beni
2 sprig chive
2 carrots, chopped
8 ounces button mushrooms, halved
water

Directions:
1) Chop the onion, garlic and other herbs and set aside.
2) In a deep pot, heat the sugar until it melts. Pay attention to the colour while it is caramelizing. When the sugar looks golden brown add the seasoned meat. Stir the meat until it is evenly coated with the sugar. Add the onion and the rest of the seasoning. Mix thoroughly again. Add water. Leave to simmer until the meat cooks.
3) When the meat is cooked add the pigeon peas and any other vegetables you want to add plus a little water. Mix well and allow to simmer for another 15 minutes.Add salt to taste.
4) Serve hot over rice.