Besan in English: What Gram Flour Is & How to Use It

Besan in English is gram flour — a fine, pale-golden flour stone-ground from split Bengal gram (chana dal). In an Indian kitchen it does three jobs at once: it coats and crisps, it binds, and it thickens, which is why one packet quietly covers pakoras, chilla, kadhi and half the tea-time menu.

Also known as: besan (Hindi), gram flour or chickpea flour (English), chana no lot (Gujarati), kadalai maavu (Tamil), senaga pindi (Telugu).

Most homes keep besan on the shelf and still use it for only one or two dishes. Once you understand what it actually does in a recipe, it becomes one of the most useful flours you own. Here is a plain-language guide to using ODM Chana Besan properly.

Is besan the same as chickpea flour?

Almost, but not exactly — and the difference shows up in your batter. Indian besan is ground from split brown chana (Bengal gram). What is sold abroad as chickpea flour or garbanzo flour is usually ground from the larger white kabuli chana. They behave differently.

For any Indian recipe, reach for besan. Substituting the coarser flour is the usual reason a kadhi turns grainy or a pakora coating slides off.

What does besan actually do in a recipe?

• Coating: it clings to wet vegetables and fries into a crisp shell — the whole basis of pakora.
• Binder: a spoon or two holds together tikkis, koftas and vegetable cutlets without egg.
• Thickener: whisked into curd, it gives kadhi its body and gentle tang.
• Flavour base: dry-roasted until it smells nutty, it becomes the heart of besan ladoo, pinni and mohanthal.
• Everyday flour: mixed with atta it makes missi roti and thepla softer and tastier.

How do you use besan in everyday cooking?

Five reliable ways to work through a packet:

• Pakora: besan, water, salt, a pinch of haldi powder and crushed ajwain. Dip onion, potato or palak and fry.
• Chilla: a thin batter with chopped onion, tomato and green chilli, spread on a tawa — a fast, savoury breakfast.
• Kadhi: whisk besan into sour curd until completely smooth, then simmer slowly with a tadka.
• Gatte: stiff besan dough rolled, boiled and simmered in gravy — the Rajasthani classic.
• Ladoo: roast besan in ghee on low heat until it turns a shade darker and smells nutty, then add sugar.

How do you get the batter right?

Batter problems are almost always technique, not the flour:

• Add water a little at a time to a thick paste first, then loosen it. Dumping in water at once causes lumps you will never whisk out.
• Rest the batter 10 minutes so the flour absorbs the water and stops thinning in the pan.
• Whisk hard for a minute — air makes pakoras lighter.
• For extra crispness, add a spoon of hot oil to the batter just before frying.
• Keep the oil at a steady medium-high. Cool oil makes the coating soak up fat.

How should you store besan?

Besan carries natural oils from the dal, so it can turn stale-smelling faster than atta. Keep it in an airtight steel or glass container, away from the stove and out of direct sunlight, and use it within about two to three months of opening. If it smells sharp or bitter rather than nutty, it is past its best. In humid weather, the fridge is a safe home for it.

ODM Chana Besan is ground fresh from clean, handpicked chana dal — no fillers, no artificial colours and no preservatives, which is exactly why it tastes nutty rather than flat.

FAQ

Is besan and sattu the same thing?

No. Besan is ground from raw chana dal, while sattu is ground from roasted chana. Sattu is already cooked and can be eaten as it is; besan needs cooking.

Why does my kadhi taste raw?

Besan needs time. Simmer the kadhi on a low flame for at least 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the raw flour smell disappears and the gravy coats a spoon.

Is besan gluten-free?

Besan itself is made only from chana dal and contains no wheat. If you are avoiding gluten strictly, always check the pack, since flour milled in shared units can pick up traces.

If you want your pakoras crisper and your kadhi smoother, it starts with fresh, well-ground flour — our ODM Chana Besan is a good place to begin.