been introduced to African agriculture.Other names for this bean include Pawi, Pavi, Tepari, Escomite, Yori mui and Yori muni. The name tepary may derive from the Tohono O'odham phrase t'pawi or "It's a bean".

Tepary beans are cooked like other dry beans after soaking. Some Native Americans would toast the dry beans, then grind them into a meal which was mixed with water before eating. The beans vary in color and shape; they are oval, flattish or round and vary between a fleshly white, speckled brown, reddish-brown, or purplish-brown color.  For their very small size they offer an exceptional nutritional value.  While these miniature beans have a quick crop yield, they are also very difficult to harvest due to their small size and thin skins, which split open upon touch, scattering the beans. 

Recent studies from the United States and Mexico suggest that lectin toxins and other compounds from tepary beans may be useful as chemotherapy for treating cancer. However, further research is needed.

It is an ingrediant in the Indian snacks 'bhujia' by Haldiram.

External Link
The Tepary Bean