Rice and peas

Rice and peasorpeas and riceis atraditional rice dishin someCaribbeanandLatin Americancountries. Sometimes, the dish is made withpigeon peas, otherwise calledgungo peasby Jamaicans.Kidney beans(red peas / beans) and other similar varieties are typically used in theGreater Antillesand coastalLatin America.Rice and peasrecipes vary throughout the region, with each country having their own way(s) of making them and name(s)—with the two main ingredients beinglegumes(peas / beans) and rice, combined withherbs,spicesand/orcoconut milk.
Rice and peas, a one-potCreoledish that originated in the Caribbean during the colonial era, includes a mixture of ingredients, cooking techniques and spices influenced by variousethnicgroups that exist in the region.
TheSpanish, the firstEuropeanarrivals to theAmericas, contributed many peas / bean dishes and rice dishes. They also introducedAsian riceto the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as, herbs and spices like garlic, thyme, onion, oregano etc.Kidney beans, another key ingredient, are thought to have originated inPeruaround 8,000 B.C.,andcultivarswere dispersed throughout the Americas by indigenousAmerindiantribes by 500 B.C.,then later the Spanish andPortuguese, who introduced them to other parts of the world.Similarly, the Amerindians cultivatedpimento, and they spreadCapsicum chinensecultivars throughout the region, includingscotch bonnetand other peppers used in the dish.
TheAfricanswho arrived duringslaveryandindentureshipalso added their own influences to the dish. Along with the Spanish, Portuguese,French,English,DutchandEast Indians,they also contributed to the introduction and cultivation of rice in the region.Pigeon peas (also calledCongo 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 asgandule,guandulesorguandu(Spanish and Portuguese),gungo(Jamaican Patois)andpwa kongo or pwa di bwa(French Creole)— which were possibly derived from Bantu dialects,ngunguorwandu(Kongo) andoanda(Angolan Kimbundu).
The name"rice and peas"was originally used byJamaicansto identify the dish. 
In 1961,Frederic G. Cassidymade note that the dish had been referred to as Jamaica'scoat 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.
Jamaica
Rice and peasfromJamaicais one of the most popular variations from the region. It is typically eaten as aside dish, often accompanied withmeatsorseafood. Jamaicanrice and peaswhich has been introduced to other parts of the world, by thediaspora, is eaten in other countries outside of the Caribbean. In Jamaica, the dish is especially prepared on Sundays for dinner.Kidney beansand other similar cultivars are normally used to prepare the dish, howeverpigeon peas(alsogungo peas) andJerusalem peas (Phaseolus trinervius)are traditionally cooked duringChristmas.Other ingredients includescotch bonnetandpimentowhich are native to the island,long-grain rice, coconut milk,scallion,garlic,saltandpepperto taste andthyme.Sometimes,cured meatlikecorned porkorbeefis added torice and peas.
Cuba
Moros y cristianos(also calledMoros) which means "Moors and Christians", andcongriare Cuban variations. Both side dishes resemble and taste  similar to Jamaicanrice and peasand Haitiandiri ak pwaorkongo, however some of the ingredients are different.Morosis usually made withblack beans, whilecongriis made withred beans— which represent the IslamicMoors, and thericerepresentingChristianSpaniards.The dish commemorates theReconquista, and represents how both groups came to live together in theIberian Peninsula, after a long period of battle.According to Cuban historian and anthropologist,Fernando Ortiz Fernández,congriwas adopted from the Haitians who settled inCubaduring theHaitian Revolution.Other ingredients includeonion,bell pepper, garlic,tomato,bay leaf,cumin,oreganoandsalt.Sometimes,baconorporkis added.
Belize
Belizeanrice and beansis the national dish ofBelize.Its origins can be traced back to the ancientMayans,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 cutlogwood, in the late 1700s and 1800s—later intermingling withmestizosand 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 torice and peasfrom the Greater Antilles and Central American variations. The first Sunday in September is celebrated asNational Rice and Beans Dayin Belize.
Haiti
Diri ak pwa(also known asdiri kole) is"rice and peas"inHaitian Kreyol. It is considered to be part ofHaiti's national dish along withgriot.It is typically made with red beans, black beans orpinto beans.The version with pigeon peas is calleddiri kole ak pwa kongo, and withlima beans,diri kongri.Haitian variations resemble Jamaican, Cuban and Dominican variations. However, ingredients includeepis(green seasoning) and/orparsley, thyme, scallion, onion,shallot,cloves, garlic, salt, black pepper, bell pepper, long-grain rice, oil / butter andpiment bouc(Bahamian goat pepper) which is sometimes substituted withhabaneroor scotch bonnet.Sometimes, coconut milk is added.
Dominican Republic
Moro de guandulesormoro de guandules con cocois a Dominican variation which may include coconut milk. It is eaten as a side dish, and is made with pigeon peas. The dish is similar to Jamaicanrice and peas(withgungo peas), and  it is also a traditional Dominican Christmas food.Other versions of the dish resemble Puerto Ricanarroz con gandules, and ingredients include garlic,cubanelle, onion,cilantro, long-grain rice,celery, thyme, salt, oregano,sazonand/ortomato paste.Moro de habichuelas rojasis the version made with kidney beans.
Puerto Rico
Arroz con gandulesisPuerto Rico'snational dishwhich is typically served with roasted pork.It is similar to the Dominican variation, and is also served during Christmas and special occasions.It is made with rice, pigeon peas,sofritoand/or sazon,annattooil, bell peppers, cubanelle, cilantro, onion, garlic,aji dulce,recao(culantro), oregano, bay leaf and tomato paste.Salt pork,ham, bacon, salchichón (salami) orchorizomay be added. Other Puerto Ricanrice and peasdishes arearroz junto, which consists of similar ingredients,andarroz mamposteao, which is usually made with kidney beans and similar ingredients, but the preparation is similar to Colombiancalentao.
The Bahamas&  Anguilla
The dish is known aspeas 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, tomato paste, salt,pepperand celery. Sometimes, bacon is added. The texture ofpeas n' riceis different fromrice and peas, but more similar to the AmericanHoppin' John.Peas and riceis the national dish ofAnguilla, which is also made with pigeon peas,but is more similar in texture to Jamaicanrice and peas(withgungo).
Lesser Antilles
Peas and rice(alsopeas n' rice),pigeon peas and riceorrice and beansis made in other Caribbean islands likeBarbados,St Kitts,Grenada,St LuciaandTrinidad.Some of these variations have adopted Jamaica'srice and peasrecipes over time, and pigeon peas are typically used. Another Caribbean variation is a traditional Creole dish of theLesser Antillescalledpelau— made mostly inGuadeloupe,Dominica,St Vincent,St Lucia,Trinidad,Grenadaand theVirgin Islands. Pigeon peas orcowpeasare typically used, and meat is included.
It is similar tocook-up ricefromGuyana.
French Antilles
Riz et pois d'angole,riz aux pois du boisordiri pwa di bwa(rice and pigeon peasin French andAntillean Creole) is made in theFrench Caribbeanislands of Guadeloupe andMartinique. The dish is eaten during Christmas.  The version with kidney beans is calledriz haricots rouges (red bean rice)in Guadeloupe,orriz créole aux haricots rouges (Creole rice with red beans)in Martinique.InSt Martin, the dish is also calledpois et riz(peas and rice)orles gan-dules moro. These variations are similar to  Greater Antilleanrice 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 theDutch Caribbeanislands ofAruba,BonaireandCuracao.Other ingredients include tomato purée, long-grain rice, garlic,coriander, onion, stock, butter / oil and darksoy sauceorketjap manis.
Nicaragua & Costa Rica
Gallo pintowhich means "spotted rooster" in Spanish,is aCentral Americanvariation made mainly inNicaraguaandCosta 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 ofgallo pintocan be traced back toAfro-Caribbeanpeople,specificallyJamaicans.In the 1800s,Jewish Jamaicans, most notably theLindo brotherswho were merchants and planters, migrated to Costa Rica and established businesses in agriculture (coffee, sugar, rice, banana and other produce).
According to the bookMamita YunaibyCarlos Luis Fallas,Costa RicansandNicaraguansworked together onbanana plantations, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica wheregallo pintowas 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 theCentral Valleyand 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 andPuerto 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,includingrice and peas. It is also believed that Afro-JamaicansandCreole-Jamaicans who settled in coastal Nicaragua (Mosquito Coast) during the mid-17th, 18th and 19th centuriescontributed the dish to coastal Central America.
Panama
Gallo pinto,also calledarroz con frijoles rojos(rice and red beans) is also aPanamaniandish. It is typically made with kidney or pinto beans and includes pigtail. Another variation isarroz con guandú(also calledarroz navideñomeaning "Christmas rice"),which is made with pigeon peas, and is similar to Jamaicanrice and (gungo) peasand Puerto Ricanarroz con gandules— typically eaten at family celebrations and on holidays,such as Christmas.Both dishes are especially popular onPanama's Caribbean coast, in the provinces ofColónandBocas del Toro.The recipes were adopted from Afro-Antilleanpeople, specifically Jamaicans,who migrated to Panama in waves, between the mid-1840s and 1940s, to work on banana plantations in Central America, as well as, to build thePanama RailwayandPanama Canal.Jews from Jamaicaand Curacao, also migrated to Panama during the mid-19th century— most of whom engaged in commerce, owning factories.Many of those who migrated stayed and integrated, thus influenced the country's cuisine, music and dialect.
Honduras & El Salvador
Casamientowhich means "marriage", describes the combination of rice and red beans as one dish.It is a typical dish eaten on the second Friday ofLent,and generally eaten as a side dish especially along the Caribbean coast andBay Islandsregion ofHonduras. InEl Salvador,casamientois usually eaten as a traditional breakfast.The dish's roots can be traced to the Anglo-Antilleans, who migrated to the area with English settlers, during the 18th and 19th centuries.As was the case with Nicaragua, under British occupation, several contingents of Afro-Antilleanand Creole people,mainly from Jamaica, Belize and theCayman Islandsarrived on the islands and alongLa Mosquitia— to work in agriculture (mainly banana production), and later to build railroads and ports.
The origin ofcasamientoin El Salvador is unclear, but it is likely that the recipe may have spread from neighbouring Central American countries. Slaves from Belize fled to El Salvador, after slavery was abolished in 1825, eventually integrating with locals.However, though El Salvador did not experience Afro-Antillean migration like other parts of the region, elements of Afro-Caribbean culture were still adopted.Casamientois considered to be a fusion of ingredients (beans and rice) from the indigenousMesoamericansand Spanish respectively, with African influences in the preparation of the dish.
Guatemala
Guatemalanrice and beansisGuatemala's version ofrice and peas, which is also made with kidney beans and coconut milk cooked with rice. This one-pot dish which is popular along the country's Caribbean coast, originated from the Creole population that arrived in contingents.In the 18th century, Creole slaves who came from Jamaica, Cuba and Puerto Rico went to Guatemala.Also, after the abolition of slavery in El Salvador, slaves from Belize fled across the borders into Guatemala and Honduras.Further, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Afro-Antilleansfrom nearby Caribbean islands, such as Jamaica, were brought in to work on banana plantations and farms, primarily for theUnited Fruit Company, as well as, in the construction of railroads, and the whaling industry.Another contingent of Antilleans were theGarifunasfrom St Vincent,who were exiled inRoatanby British settlers.They spread to Guatemala, along with other settlers, and have since lived along theBay of Amatique, particularly inLivingston.Consequently, coastal Guatemala has retained attributes of Caribbean culture, including dishes such asrice and beans(in English).
San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, Colombia
Rice and beansis also a dish inSan Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina,Colombia. The dish is identical to Jamaicanrice and peas, made with kidney beans, and is one of several Jamaican dishes adopted— along with the dialect and other cultural attributes.In the 1600s, this Colombian department was a British territory, where plantations were established and English settlers engaged inprivateering. After occupation by the Spanish and Portuguese, Englishbuccaneersled byHenry Morgan, took over the islands, which were used as a base to attack Panama.The islands were occupied by mostly EnglishProtestants, who first arrived from Barbados, in the 17th century,  and slaves mainly from Jamaica who worked in lumbering, cotton and tobacco cultivation.By the 20th century, Anglo/Afro-Caribbean people had migrated to the islands, as well as, coastal Latin America for employment— thus, majority of the population (theRaizal) has a strong Caribbean heritage,hence the dish's roots.
Colombia
In Colombia,calenta'owhich means "heated" or "warmed up" (in Criolla), orcalentado(in Spanish), is a rice and beans dish traditionally eaten for breakfast.It differs fromrice and peas, as the dish is made fromleftoverbeans and rice, but similar in that they are combined. The dish which is fromAntioquiaand theCoffee Zone, is believed to be a colonial era dish—created by African slaves repurposing  leftovers of their Spanish masters’ food.Calenta'ois a versatile dish, which may be served with other accompaniments such as eggs andarepas.
Arroz de fríjol cabecita negra(black head bean rice) is a dish made with rice and black-eyed peas, from Colombia's Caribbean coast.The dish is popular in Cartagena, and is eaten in other coastal states.It resembles  the AmericanHoppin' John, Brazilianbaião de doisand Haitiandiri ak pwawith black-eyed peas. Sometimes, coconut milk is added. It is believed to be a colonial era dish. Other variations which are similar torice and peas, calledarroz con frijoles(rojos, negros and morados) are also made in coastal Colombia.
Venezuela
Palo a pique llanerois a one-pot dish which includes rice, beans and meat.It dates back to the 19th century, and originated in the VenezuelanLos Llanosplain.The dish is also made inGuyana.It can be made with kidney beans orfrijoles bayos(bay beans),and is similar topelaumade in  Trinidad and other Lesser Antillean islands, and Guyanesecook-up ricewith black-eyed peas (typically eaten onNew Year's Eve/ Old Year's Night).
InVenezuela,arroz con caraotas(rice with beans) is another dish made with rice and beans combined.It resembles Cubanmoros y cristianosandarroz congri, as well as, other Greater Antillean and Central American variations ofrice and peas / beans.The dish is typical of coastal Venezuela. Like the other Latin countries mentioned, Venezuela also experienced waves of Antillean migration, which could explain the similarities.
Brazil
Baião de doisis a Brazilian one-pot dish made from black-eyed peas / pigeon peas or green beans (feijão verde), and rice. It is similar tomoro de guandulesfrom the Dominican Republic, andarroz con gandulesfrom, Puerto Rico. The dish originated in the state ofCeará, and is typical ofBrazil'sNortheast Region.The name is related tobaião, a northeastern style of music and dance (for two), which is a fusion of indigenous Amerindian, African and European influences— like the dish.Dois("2" in Portuguese) refers to the combination of the two main ingredients i.e. rice and peas. In the mid-20th century, the name became popular with the songBaião de Dois, by composer and Ceará native,Humberto Teixeira, and the"Rei do Baião"(King of Baião),Luiz Gonzaga.