Gram flour is a pulse flour made from ground chickpeas or chana dahl. It is also known as chickpea flour, garbanzo flour, or besan (in Tamil, Kadalai Maavu தமிழ் - கடலை மாவு)(Bengali: বেসন beshon). Used in many countries, it is a staple ingredient in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisines. Gram flour can be made from either raw chickpeas or roasted chickpeas. The roasted variety is more flavorful, while the raw variety has a slightly bitter taste.
In the form of a paste with water or yogurt, it is also popular as a facial exfoliant in the Indian Subcontinent. When mixed with an equal proportion of water, it can be used as an egg-replacer in vegan cooking.
Chila (or chilla), a pancake made with gram flour batter, is a popular street and fast food in India.
Gram flour contains a high proportion of carbohydrates but no gluten. Despite this, in comparison to other flours, it has a relatively high proportion of protein.
Read more about Gram Flour: Dishes
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“Mathematics may be compared to a mill of exquisite workmanship, which grinds your stuff of any degree of fineness; but nevertheless, what you get out depends upon what you put in; and as the grandest mill in the world will not extract wheat- flour from peascods, so pages of formulae will not get a definite result out of loose data.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)