Gram flour

besan

Chickpea, milled into a hundred uses.

What it is

Gram flour is finely ground chickpea (chana dal) — pale yellow, nutty, and gluten-free. It is the batter that crisps a pakora, the base of sweets like besan barfi and Mysore pak, a thickener for gravies and yogurt dishes, and even a face-scrub in folk use. Few single ingredients do more.

Where it comes from

Used across the whole subcontinent, besan is a pantry staple — for frying, for sweets, for thickening. Its versatility comes from being a protein-rich flour that both crisps and binds.

What it's called

Gram flour · besan (Hindi) · chickpea flour · roasted, it is a subtly different product.

In the kitchen

Whisked with water and spices into a batter for pakora and bhaji; cooked with ghee and sugar into fudgy sweets; stirred into kadhi (a yogurt gravy) as a thickener and stabiliser. It fries to a distinctive savoury crisp. Toasting it first deepens the flavour of a sweet.

What we know about the claims

Gram flour is protein- and fibre-rich and naturally gluten-free — a wholesome, useful flour. No caution.

Choosing and buying

Everywhere in South Asian grocers and many supermarkets (UK and US), labelled gram flour, besan or chickpea flour. Keep it sealed and dry.