Pigeonpea is an important source of proteins, carbohydrates, B-group vitamins, and certain minerals. India contributes over 90% of the pigeonpea production in the world where it is mostly consumed as dehusked splits or dhal. In African countries and Latin America, it is mainly consumed as canned peas. In this review, world production and distribution, genetic background, and biochemical and nutritional properties, storage and processing of pigeonpea are discussed. Future research needs to improve the utilization of pigeonpea as human food are also addressed.

Legume-based fermented foods are very popular in the Southeast Asia, the Near East, and parts of Africa. They form an appreciable part of daily diet of people as a main source of protein, calories, and certain vitamins. Preparation of legume-based fermented foods has remained to some extent an art, and their nutritional quality has been of interest to both professionals and layman. The fermentation process helps not only in improving the organoleptic quality of legumes but also enhances nutritional quality. This review examines the production of various legume-based fermented foods and critically assesses their nutritional quality.

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Horse gram and moth bean are the unexploited legumes of the tropics and subtropics grown mostly under dry-land agriculture. The chemical composition is comparable with commonly cultivated legumes. Like other legumes, these are deficient in methionine and tryptophan. Horse gram is an excellent source of iron and molybdenum. Comparatively, horse gram seeds have higher trypsin inhibitor and hemagglutinin activities and polyphenols than moth bean seeds. Dehusking, germination, cooking, and roasting have been shown to produce beneficial effects on nutritional quality of both the legumes. Both the legumes require prolonged cooking to obtain product of acceptable nature. A soak solution (1.5% NaHCO3 + 0.5% Na2CO3 + 0.75% citric acid) treatment has been shown to reduce cooking time and improve protein quality. Moth bean is mostly consumed as dhal or sprouts. The whole seeds of horse gram are generally utilized as cattle feed. However, it is consumed as a whole seed, sprouts, or whole meal by a large population in rural areas of southern India. Medical uses of these legumes have been discussed.