Bemisaal besan

The fragrance of roasted gram flour (besan) greeted me as I walked into the office today. I peeped into the kitchen and there were food trials on with besan laddoo in preparation. Well, I have till this moment restrained myself from tasting the result but gram flour is definitely the topic for the day.

I remember my mother used to mix up gram flour with curd and turmeric and use it as a body scrub for us in winters. Gram flour is a fantastic deep cleanser and one of the oldest beauty aids even for facial skin. As an ingredient in the kitchen, there are as many things one can make with gram flour as there is imagination. Usually on Independence Day, my breakfast treat for Rachita and Kriti are chunky besan toast. Make a triple decker sandwich using ketchup and green chutney between three slices of bread (use white bread for this). Cut into fingers or squares or triangles and dip in thick gram flour batter. Deep fry. When you cut them the tri-colours are revealed.

Mumbai especially is a one-stop show case for gram flour goodies. You can see khaman dhokla, fafda and papri as hot selling Gujarati breakfast. Wait for some time and khandvi, patra and mirchi vada will be ready for a mid morning farsan treat! In case you are on the move, look around and you will see the plump batata wadas held in a pav. And bhajiyas? Probably the most important and well known gram flour preparation! Besan cheeley or besan ke poode also known as besan omelette take up a good section of the snacks list too. I like to serve besan cheeley with a stuffing of sprouts, spring onions and homemade paneer. High protein food, perfect for breakfast. 

Well as main course, besan ke gatte are as traditional in Rajasthan as pakodonwali kadhi in Punjab. In fact kadhis, Sindhi, Maharashtrian, Gujarati all need gram flour as the thickening and binding agent. And what about the pittla that is excellent with roti or bhakri? Kurkuri bhindi will too need roasted gram flour as an integral part of the masala. 

Roasted gram flour? Brings me back to the long neglected besan laddoo! Did you know the easiest no-sweat way of roasting gram flour to perfection (be it for mithais or as binding for kababs) is to do it in the microwave oven? But then why stop now without mentioning besan halwa, burfi, sev or boondi. The last can be the sweet version too, just like this besan laddoo which I have finally decided is my treat!