Make Besan Your Go-To Ingredient This Season

The months of November and December can hardly be classified as winter.  Umbrellas probably come out more quickly that jackets and the chill that one experiences on and off, creeps in silently and often comes when we least expect it, given days are just as hot and sweaty as always. So what’s the best comfort food for an almost winter? 

My answer to this would be the highly nutritive Besan – Bengal gram, Gram flour or Chickpea flour as are some of the other common names it is known by.

My love for this protein-rich ingredient started from my younger days when my mother used to dip anything from banana flowers to fish in the flour, fry it and serve it at home crisp as an after-school snack during the six months of rain at the Andaman Nicobar islands.

I remember her making a thin sheet, rolling with sprouts and tempering it. When we asked the name of the dish she would just create one to keep us happy. It was much later when doing my culinary school that I found out that the dish was called Khandvi, a popular Gujarathi preparation that my mother had added a twist to with the stuffing inside.

At home, it was also used during rainy months as soap for face wash to keep your skin glowing...

Why  Besan Flour?

 The nutty flavour from finely ground chickpeas gives besan flour the ability to create tasty, simple breads that stand on their own with a few ingredients. It is naturally higher in protein than wheat-based flours.

Vitamins

If you consumed an entire half-cup of besan flour, you will get 50 per cent of the recommended daily intake of folate. This important vitamin is critical for the production of proteins and genetic material. Folate is especially important during periods of rapid growth.

Minerals

Besan flour delivers a boost of iron, magnesium and phosphorus. Well known for its role carrying oxygen, iron also functions as an antioxidant and it’s needed for the production of collagen.

Preparation Tips

Besan flour is usually mixed with water, olive oil, yogurt or milk to make a paste that can be any consistency depending on the desired use.

The paste is seasoned with any combination of parsley, cumin, coriander, turmeric, red chili, rosemary, onion or garlic. Use a thick besan flour batter to coat and fry vegetables or add small shrimps to a thin batter and fry them into appetizer-like pancakes.

Gluten Free

As it doesn’t contain gluten, it makes a good substitute for wheat flour in gluten-free diets. Try mixing besan flour with white rice flour, making sure that the total amount is the same that’s called for in the recipe. You’ll probably need to adjust the fluids to create the same consistency achieved with wheat flour.

(The writer is the executive chef of The Westin Chennai, Velachery)

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/Make-Besan-Your-Go-To-Ingredient-This-Season/2014/11/20/article2531472.ece