Recipes Using Gram Flour

Call it gram or chickpea flour, as more commonly known in the West, is made by milling splint Bengal gram into fine flour. It has a pale yellow color and is used in many Indian foods. Almost all Indian households have this flour stocked to make wonderful and delicious recipes. The flour is rich in proteins, vitamin A, calcium, and iron. You can make delicious vegetarian omelets, Indian sweets, snacks, and much more with the flour.

Ingredients

• Lukewarm water, 1¼ cups
• Whole grain flour, 1 cup
• Gram flour, 1 cup
• Fresh cilantro, chopped, 1 tablespoon

• Cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon
• Black onion seeds, 1 teaspoon
• Red onion, finely diced, 1
• Red chili, seeded, finely chopped, 1
• Sunflower oil, for brushing
• Salt, for taste

Procedure
In a large bowl, sift both the flours and add the chopped onion, red chili, cilantro, cumin seeds, and black onion seeds. Little by little, pour in lukewarm water and knead all the ingredients together. To make a soft dough, pour adequate water. Once the dough is combined properly, let it rest for about 5 minutes in the bowl.

Place a damp cloth over the bowl (not touching the dough) to keep the dough from drying out. After 5 minutes, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape them into round balls. On your workstation, sprinkle some flour and place one ball on it.

Take a rolling pin and make round, flat parathas (disc of dough) of 5" in diameter. Place a nonstick pan on the stove, and turn the heat on high. Once the pan is hot, place one paratha and cook for about 30 seconds on one side. When you see small air bubbles popping up, flip it, and brush some sunflower oil on the first side.

Let the other side cook and again flip that side. Let both the sides turn slightly brown. Take the parathas off the pan, and place them on a platter. Serve warm alongside yogurt mixed with salt and red chili powder.

Ingredients

• Cilantro, chopped, 2 tablespoons
• Coconut, shaved, 2 tablespoons
• Oil, 2 tablespoons
• Semolina, 1½ tablespoons
• Black mustard seeds, 1 tablespoon
• Sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon
• Lemon juice, 1 teaspoon

• Sugar, powdered, 1 teaspoon
• Asafetida, 1 pinch
• Ginger, 1 inch
• Cucumbers, 250 g
• Gram flour, 100 g
• Curry leaves, 4―5
• Green chilies, 2―3
• Salt, for taste

Procedure
Khaman is a very popular Gujarati dish with a sweet and spicy flavor to it. Mix all the ingredients together, except for the fruit salt, to make the batter. Pour enough water in the bowl to make a thick but smooth batter. Now add the fruit salt and mix everything again. Let the batter sit for an hour.

Till then, prepare a plate greased with some oil and place a pot quarterly filled with water. Bring the water to a boil and once the batter rises, pour it in the greased plate till it fills half of it. Place the plate above the water inside the pot, so the water doesn't come inside the plate. Keep the lid on the pot, steam for about 10 minutes on high flame.

Once all the batter is used, let's garnish the khaman. Take a small stainless steel bowl and add some oil, mustard seeds, sesame seeds, green chilies, and asafoetida in it.

As the mustard seeds start to crackle, remove the bowl off the heat and drizzle over the steamed khaman. Cut into equal pieces and sprinkle cilantro and coconut shavings on top, and serve immediately.

Ingredients

• Gram flour, 1 cup
• Yogurt, 1 tablespoon
• Oil, 1 tablespoon
• Green chili paste, 1 teaspoon
• Black mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon

• Sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder, 1 pinch
• Coconut shavings, for garnish
• Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish
• Salt, for taste

Procedure
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, yogurt, green chili, and turmeric powder properly. Place the batter inside a microwave for about 5 minutes. Bring the batter out, stir it properly, and place it again in the microwave for another 3 minutes. The texture should become thick at this point.

To make sure that the consistency is right, apply little batter on the back of a spoon and try to remove it. The batter should not stick to the spoon. If the batter sticks, then it's not ready. In such a case, place the bowl in the microwave for another 2 minutes.

After the batter is ready, keep a stainless steel plate on your workstation and spread the cooked batter over it. Make sure the batter is thinly spread over the plate. You have to do this as quickly as possible, while the batter is still hot. Now cut strips at least 3 inches apart and 8―10" long. Roll them individually.

To garnish the khandvi, heat some oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and sesame seeds. Add some red chili powder in the oil and once the mustard seeds start to crackle, drizzle it over the rolled khandvi. Garnish with cilantro and coconut shavings, and serve immediately.