Grass pea

Lathyrus sativus · Legume

40 pairings

The grass pea (Lathyrus sativus), also called chickling vetch, khesari or guaya, is the small, angular seed of a hardy annual climbing legume — one of the most drought- and flood-tolerant of all food crops, grown across the drylands of South Asia, the Horn of Africa and the Mediterranean as a famine-insurance pulse. Cheap, protein-rich and able to yield where almost nothing else will, it carries one grave shadow: heavy, prolonged eating of the seed can cause neurolathyrism, an irreversible paralysis of the legs traced to the neurotoxic amino acid β-ODAP.

Picking a good onedrag

This season's crop, evenOld, dull, weevilled

Last year'sThe workaday dal: soak, boil in ample water, discard it, every time. The harm needs it to be a third of what you eat for months, not one meal.Everyday khesari

Colour across the sackMostly even, a scattering of darker seeds

Coats and split facesA few chipped edges, a little loose dust

The handfulHard and dry, a little dust on the palm

Smell in the bagNeutral and dry, almost nothing

What to look for, from this season's crop, even to old, dull, weevilled.

Preparing