Degchi
Besan (gram flour)
Also written: gram flour, chickpea flour, chana flour, basan
- Urduبیسن
- Hindiबेसन
- Banglaবেসন
Besan is a pale yellow flour made from ground chana daal, the split chickpeas. It has an earthy, slightly nutty taste and no gluten, so it does not stretch like wheat flour. It sets into a crisp coat when fried and into a soft cake when steamed.
Batter is the most common use. Pakoray mixes 250 g with turmeric, red chilli powder, carom seeds and salt before water goes in, Beguni whisks it with water and nigella seeds for eggplant slices, and Vada Pav coats a potato ball in a thick besan batter. Dhokla whisks it with yogurt, sugar and turmeric, then steams it.
It also thickens and binds. Kadhi Pakora whisks 150 g into yogurt and water until smooth so the pot simmers into a sour, creamy sauce, and Chapli Kabab adds 2 tablespoons to the mince as a binder. Paneer Tikka stirs roasted besan into the yogurt marinade to help it cling.
Add the water slowly and whisk as you go. Dumping it all at once leaves dry pockets that become hard lumps in the oil. Rest the batter a few minutes if it looks thick, and store the flour in a closed jar, as it can taste stale after a few months.
Recipes that use it
12 of our 247 recipes call for besan (gram flour). Here are a few to start with.
- Vegetable Fritters
- Yogurt Curry with Fritters
- Dhokla
- Beguni (Fried Eggplant Fritters)
- Vada Pav
- Paneer Tikka