guandule

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rolfdog

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Can anyone tell me what guandule is. Im not sure of the spelling. My domincan friend wants to cook it.

Is it a type of bean?

Estoy seguro que sabe bien.

Steve
 

Marianopolita

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Guandules= Pigeon Peas

Arroz con guandules is a typical Dominican dish as well as in other Caribbean countries.

In Puerto Rico it's gandules.The difference in the name of the peas coincides with the vocabulary differences for names of vegetables, beans, fruits from country to country in the Spanish-speaking world.


-LDG.
 

Marianopolita

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Gandul- word origins

Steve, if you don't mind I am going expand a bit here for two reasons. First of all you may have tried to look for the word guandul in the dictionary and could not find it and secondly a thread should provide information beyond what the OP asks so that it becomes a worthy source of info for those reading the threads in this forum.

Depending on your depth of knowledge of Spanish lexicon (vocabulary) specific to Spanish spoken in the Americas many of the words are of indigenous origin i.e.Ta?no, Aztec, Maya etc. and African origin which includes various dialects. Due to the Atlantic slave trade which brought over a million + slaves to the Caribbean and three million + to Brazil needless to say the impact from a language perspective was influential. The vestiges of vocabulary is very evident (IMO if you are truly familiar with words of Latin origin vs. any other word in Spanish) especially when referring to foods specifically vegetables.

Gandul is a word of African origin and it also refers to the seed (la semilla) of the plant. Pigeon peas are also referred to as congo beans or gandule which you will see on the label of cans in the international section of most grocery stores. Gandul is the most common word used for pigeon peas as evidenced by the name of the seed. The Dominican variation "guandul" which is not registered in the dictionary is a classic example of a word variation due to the history of a particular geographical region. In Puerto Rico and other Caribbean Spanish-speaking countries gandul (gandules) is used.

Across the Spanish-speaking world in the Americas there is different vocabulary for the same vegetable due to origin of the people and other historical factors. As you move from region to region you will see this variance. Another example is the word for bean(s) which you mentioned in your original post. Depending on the country the word will vary. Some countries use a more generic word regardless of the type of bean and in other Spanish-speaking countries the word used is specific to the type of bean. For example you will hear: frijol, fr?jol (note the accent on the "i") fr?jol, jud?as, habichuelas and habas.

There may be more but these are the words I am familiar with for beans and I know exactly when to use one over the other. For example in Colombia, Medell?n and the south specifically they say fr?jol (with the accent and stress on the first syllable) as opposed to frijol in the Caribbean. I am sure you heard of the Cuban dish Arroz con frijoles negros.

Be prepared if you go to the Caribbean you will hear of many rice dishes- arroz con guandules (moro) or gandules, arroz con habichuelas, arroz con frijoles negros etc.


-LDG.
 

Norma Rosa

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Gandules (guandules ) are delicious and it does not take much time to cook them, like other beans. I live in northern California and cannot find fresh gandules, but some supermarkets carry the Goya brand and they are very good. Try moro de guandules, DELICIOSO!!

Please, be careful with the following, don't even get close to one:
A gandul: a loafer, a tramp

Norma
 

Chirimoya

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Pigeon peas/congo/guandules/gandules

Please, be careful with the following, don't even get close to one:
A gandul: a loafer, a tramp

Norma
I'd forgotten that, but that's what 'gandul' used to mean for me, well before I became acquainted with the edible variety. ;)

Here are the classic Dominican ways of enjoying guandules/gandules:

Guandules con coco (Pigeon peas with coconut) - Dominican Cooking

Moro de guandules con coco (Rice, pigeon peas and coconut) - Dominican Cooking

Is 'como el primer guandul' a Dominican saying? I understand it to mean something like 'full of beans'. Funnily enough.
 

Norma Rosa

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Chirimoya
Please, not with coconut!!!

Funny, I grew up in the DR but at home we never cooked with coconuts.
OH, I remember pescado con coco, that's all.
 

Chirimoya

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Lesley D clarifies that 'como el primer guandul' is probably a Dominican saying, which is usually used to describe someone who is in good shape despite their age - kind of like sprightly, spry or plucky in English.
With a small amount of artistic licence, 'full of beans' could still apply!:classic:

Norma - just omit the coconut - or base it on the regular habichuelas guisadas or moro de habichuelas recipes using pigeon peas instead of beans.
 

Chirimoya

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Guandules are a greeny-brown colour. Are you confusing them with split peas or lentils though?
 

Chirimoya

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standard.jpg

Shelling guandules (photo taken yesterday afternoon).
 

Marianopolita

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you may find this interesting-

rolfdog,

I was just browsing through El Siglo, one of Panama's daily newspapers and came across an article on pigeon peas. Interesting enough here is one more way to say it in the Spanish-speaking world, guand?. If you go back to the posts in the thread you will recall gandul, guandul (DR) were mentioned.

From the article:

Comer un plato de arroz con guand? se ha convertido en un lujo que muchos paname?os no se pueden dar.

Note the ending of the word, guand? with the accent on the /u/. There's interesting linguistic history studied and documented by John Lipski, linguist, professor for those who are interested in these word endings in Spanish.


-LDG.

Too bad that photo was not sized to fit properly in the thread.
 

rolfdog

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Thanks Lesley. As always, your input is greatly appreciated. I lok forward to guandules, habichuela, frijoles and the like on my trip to the DR in February.

Steve
 
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