besan

Besan, also known as gram flour or chickpea flour, is a fine flour milled from dried chickpeas (Cicer arietinum), native to the Indian subcontinent. The flour is produced by grinding roasted or unroasted dried chickpeas into a powder, resulting in a light yellow to golden color with a slightly nutty aroma. Besan has a distinctive earthy, mild legume flavor and fine, slightly grainy texture. It is gluten-free by nature and contains higher protein content than wheat flour, making it a staple legume-based flour in South Asian, Middle Eastern, and increasingly global cuisines.

Besan is versatile and fundamental in Indian cooking, used to prepare batters for deep-fried fritters (pakora), crispy coatings for vegetables and proteins, and as a binding agent in kebabs and patties. It serves as the base for savory preparations like besan ki kadhi (yogurt and gram flour curry) and sweet applications such as besan laddoo (Indian sweets). In other cuisines, it functions as a gluten-free flour alternative for breads, pancakes, and batters. Besan can be mixed with water and spices into a paste for skincare applications as well, reflecting its culinary and traditional medicinal overlap in South Asian practice.