Gram flour

Gram flour
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	1,619 kJ (387 kcal)
Carbohydrates	57 g
Sugars	10 g
Dietary fiber	10 g
Fat	6 g
Protein	22 g
Vitamins	Quantity %DV†
Niacin (B3)	6% 1 mg
Folate (B9)	109% 437 μg
Minerals	Quantity %DV†
Calcium	3% 45 mg
Iron	22% 4 mg
Magnesium	40% 166 mg
Phosphorus	25% 318 mg
Potassium	28% 846 mg
Selenium	15% 8 μg
Sodium	3% 64 mg
Zinc	18% 2 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	10 g
	†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

Besan or gram flour is a pulse flour made from chana dal or chickpea flour (split Bengal gram) or brown/kaala chana, a chickpea. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, including Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Caribbean cuisines.

Characteristics

Gram flour contains a high proportion of carbohydrates,^[3] higher fiber relative to other flours, no gluten,^[4] and a higher proportion of protein than other flours.^[3]

Dishes

The Indian Subcontinent and the Caribbean

Gram flour is in popular use in the Indian subcontinent and the Caribbean, where it is used to make the following:

In Andhra Pradesh, it is used in a curry with gram flour cakes called Senaga Pindi Kura (Telugu: శెనగ పిండి కూర) and is eaten with Chapati or Puri, mostly during winter for breakfast.^[5] Chila (or chilla), a pancake made with gram flour batter, is a popular street food in India.

Southeast and East Asia

Gram flour, which is called pe hmont (ပဲမှုန့်, lit. 'bean flour') in Burmese, is commonly used in Burmese cuisine. Roasted gram flour is commonly added to season Burmese salads, and is the principal ingredient of Burmese tofu.^[6] Roasted gram flour is also used to thicken several noodle soup dishes, including mohinga and ohn no khao swè.^[7]^[6]

Gram flour is also used to make jidou liangfen, a Yunnanese dish similar to Burmese tofu salad.

Southern Europe

Along the coast of the Ligurian Sea, flour made from garbanzo beans, which are a different variety of chickpea closely related to Bengal gram, is used to make a thin pancake that is baked in the oven. This popular street food is called farinata in Italian cuisine, fainâ in Genoa, and is known as socca or cade in French cuisine. It is used to make panelle, a fritter in Sicilian cuisine, and panisses, a similar fritter from France. In Spanish cuisine, gram flour is an ingredient for tortillitas de camarones. Also in Cyprus and Greece, it is used as a garnishing ingredient for the funeral ritual food Koliva, blessed and eaten during Orthodox Memorial services. In the cuisine of Antakya in Turkey, it is used in the preparation of hummus.

North Africa

In Algeria and East Morocco, they make a dish called Karantika from unroasted chickpea flour, which is topped with beaten egg and baked in the oven. The dish is also called Garantita or Karantita (originated from the Spanish term Calentica, which means hot).^[8]

Notes

^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
^ ^a ^b "Chickpea flour (besan)". Nutrition Data: Nutrition Facts and Calorie Counter. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
^ "Is it Gluten-Free: Gram Flour". Beyond Celiac. Archived from the original on 2007-10-03. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
^ "Senagapindi Kura (Onion curry with Besan)". Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Aye, MiMi (2019-06-13). Mandalay: Recipes and Tales from a Burmese Kitchen. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4729-5948-5.
^ "Coconut Noodles Recipe". NYT Cooking. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
^ Duclos, J. (1992). Le Pataouète. Dictionnaire de la langue populaire d'Algérie et d'Afrique du Nord (in French). Éd. Gandini. p. 50. ISBN 2906431117.