moth bean
• noun
The small, oblong, brown or yellowish-brown edible seed or pod of Vigna aconitifolia, widely used as a nutritious pulse, sprouted legume, and culinary vegetable in South Asian cuisine.
"She soaked the moth beans overnight so they would sprout in time to prepare traditional Maharashtrian misal pav."
A drought-resistant, trailing annual herbaceous plant (Vigna aconitifolia) in the legume family Fabaceae, native to arid and semi-arid regions of the Indian subcontinent and cultivated for its edible seeds, pods, and livestock forage.
"Because the moth bean thrives in dry, sandy soils with minimal rainfall, farmers in Rajasthan rely on it as both a food crop and a soil-enriching cover plant."
Word Nuance & Usage
In this compound, "moth" is pronounced with a retroflex or alveolar "t" sound (from Hindi/Marathi moth) rather than like the English insect name "moth."
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.