Whether you are on gluten free diet or just attempting to add healthy nutrients in your diet, besan or bengal gram or garbanzo bean flour is a healthy alternative to some of the most common flours. Just adding a small amount of garbanzo flour or besan to wheat flour or any GF flour can improve the nutrition of cooked food. According to Gluten Free cooking school website, 1/4 cup of garbanzo bean flour gives 5 g of dietary fiber and 6 g of protein.
Sometimes there is confusion understanding the difference between chickpeas and flours made out of them.
Chickpeas are of two main kinds :
Beige and dark brown.
White Chickpea:
It is also known by the name garbanzo / cici bean/ kabuli chana. It is beige colored, larger seed with a smooth coat. Chickpea is a popular ingredient in Indian and Mediterranean diet for making curries, hummus, falafal, soups and salads. It is an excellent source of protein but also have a higher fat content.
Chickpea (garbanzo) flour is made from beige or white chickpeas and is popular in Italian cuisine for making pancakes. It is available in specialty stores and in Italian shops and goes by the name garbanzo bean flour or farina di ceci. Besan found in Indian stores is not made by this bean. You’ll read about it under Chana daal.
Recipes made from white Chickpea
Chickpea salad
Roasted acorn Squash with Chickpea Medley
Chickpea Tortilla Soup
Dark Brown or Indian Black Chickpea:
Indian Black chickpea is also called Bengal gram or Kala chana or Desi chickpea. It is small, from light to dark brown color with a rough coat. It is a powerhouse of nutrients, rich in protein, fiber, vitamins and has low glycemic index which makes it suitable for people with high blood sugar. Whole chana is great when used in a curry, sprouted for salads and roasted for snack.
Whole chana flour is made from this black chana and is different from besan. It is just like other whole grain flour that contain cereal germ, endosperm and bran. It can be used for making chapatti combined with other flours. It can not be substituted for whole wheat flour. Chapattis made with this flour looks dark brownish black but very tasty and nutritious.
Recipes made from this black chickpea and its flour
Missi Roti – herbed Indian flat bread made with a blend of whole chana and white chapati flour.
Creamy Kala Chana Soup
Kala chana Pulao with Candied carrot strips
Gatte Ki Sabzi
Chana daal (lentil):
Chana daal or split bengal gram or yellow daal is made by peeling and splitting Bengal gram. Flour made from this daal has a pale yellow color, slightly strong taste to some but with a nutty flavor. It is popularly known by the name besan or gram flour. In Indian kitchen it is used as a binding agent for Koftas (vegetable balls), batter for fritters, savory snacks, vegetarian pancakes (Cheelas) and sweet dishes.
Check out these sweets made from besan/gram flour, which are very popular in North India and one of my favorites – Besan burfi, Besan ladoo.
Other recipes include – Punjabi Kadhi, Cabbage Kofta Curry, Boiled egg curry, Besan Ki sabzi, Mirchi Pakora, Chicken Kofta curry, Persian chickpea flour cookies, Pithaud with chaunke matar, Besan Dhokla.
Chana daal is often confused with TOOR (tuvar or arhar) daal and YELLOW SPLIT PEAS, but they are different lentils in appearance and taste.
Green Garbanzo Bean/ Hara Chana/Choliya:
Green Chana is the greener counterpart of Kala Chana (dark brown chickpea/ bengal gram) and is available only in season when fresh crops of chickpeas are harvested. In Canada frozen choliya is available in Indian stores, farmer’s market, specialty stores as well as some of the Canadian Super markets like Costco. The frozen bags of green garbanzo beans from the Costco are the best so far, just as tender and crisp as fresh beans. You don’t need to cook them much compared to the one that you find in Indian grocery stores. You also get dry green garbanzo bean in Indian stores, however fresh or frozen tastes the best. Green garbanzo beans are an excellent source of folic acid and a good source of iron and they boast sweeter flavor than traditional garbanzos with the same satisfying, nutty texture that makes them so versatile. Use them for curries, dips, smoothies, salads, stuffing and many more…
Recipes made from Green Garbanzo
Choliya
Soft corn tacos with green garbanzo beans
Healthy green garbanzo bean ‘Chaat’
Methi Malai Choliya
Flour made from garnbanzo beans and split bengal gram
It is hard to find the difference between beige chickpea / garbanzo bean flour and chana daal flour/ besan but they are not the same. I ground the chickpeas myself to check the difference and made parshad. Garbanzo flour halwa was slightly moist, less sticky as compared to besan halwa (made with same amount of ingredients). I am not sure if they can be swapped in all recipes but will cook some other dishes and update the post.
If you come across chana daal flour and chickpea flour on the same isle of the store, do not get confused. It is ground from bengal gram daal, and suppliers use different names to sell their products (this is what I was told when I asked a popular specialty store in Richmond/Vancouver). However, if you read garbanzo bean flour on the label, it is definitely made by grinding beige chickpeas/ garbanzo beans.
Photos updated on Feb. 7th, 2014
February 24th, 2014
Few days ago I tested boondi and cheela recipes with besan and garbanzo bean flour. To be honest, I could not tell any difference in cooking, appearance or taste, but my daughter who is my trusty taste tester and critic for all my creations, found besan to be too beany compared to garbanzo flour. So, if you have any issues with strong nutty taste of besan, you can easily replace garbanzo bean flour in any recipe (provided its finely ground like besan).
March 27, 2014
I made Socca, the Italian flat bread ( sometimes called pancake) with besan. It came out perfect. Usually it is prepared with farina di ceci /garbanzo bean flour. Check out the pictures here and here (that’s how I ate). After working successfully with both these flours I think you can easily alternate them in any of the recipes.
If you have also experimented with these flours and want to share some tips or would like to add anything about chickpea flours, please leave a comment or send me an email. I would be more than happy to update my post.
By SaVanna Shoemaker, MS, RDN, LD — Updated on May 1, 2019
Chickpea flour, also known as gram, besan, or garbanzo bean flour, has been a staple in Indian cooking for centuries.
Chickpeas are versatile legumes with a mild, nutty taste, and chickpea flour is typically made from a variety called Bengal grams.
This flour, which you can easily make at home, has recently grown in popularity across the world as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour.
Here are 9 benefits of chickpea flour.
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Chickpea flour is loaded with important nutrients.
One cup (92 grams) of chickpea flour contains (1):
- Calories: 356
- Protein: 20 grams
- Fat: 6 grams
- Carbs: 53 grams
- Fiber: 10 grams
- Thiamine: 30% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
- Folate: 101% of the RDI
- Iron: 25% of the RDI
- Phosphorus: 29% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 38% of the RDI
- Copper: 42% of the RDI
- Manganese: 74% of the RDI
One cup (92 grams) of chickpea flour packs slightly more folate than you need in a day. This vitamin plays an important role in preventing spinal cord defects during pregnancy (2).
In one observational study in more than 16,000 women, babies born to women who consumed flour fortified with additional folate and other vitamins had 68% fewer spinal cord defects than those born to participants who consumed plain flour (3).
The women who used fortified flour also had 26% higher blood folate levels than the control group (3).
Chickpea flour naturally contains nearly twice the folate as an equal amount of fortified wheat flour (1).
Plus, it’s an excellent source of several minerals, including iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and manganese.
Summary Chickpea flour is full of vitamins and minerals, with 1 cup (92 grams) providing 101% of the RDI for folate and over a quarter of your daily needs for several other nutrients.
Chickpeas contain beneficial antioxidants called polyphenols (4).
Antioxidants are compounds that fight against unstable molecules called free radicals in your body, which are thought to contribute to the development of various diseases (5).
Plant polyphenols specifically have been shown to decrease free radicals in food and reverse some of the damage they can cause in your body (4).
In addition, chickpea flour is being studied for its ability to reduce the acrylamide content of processed foods.
Acrylamide is an unstable byproduct of food processing. It can be found in high levels in flour- and potato-based snacks (6).
It’s a potentially cancer-causing substance and has been linked to problems with reproduction, nerve and muscle function, as well as enzyme and hormone activity (7).
In one study comparing several types of flours, chickpea flour produced one of the lowest amounts of acrylamide when heated (8).
Researchers also found that using chickpea batter on potato chips decreased acrylamide formation, compared to potato chips that had been treated with antioxidants from oregano and cranberry (9).
Finally, another study observed that shortbread cookies made with a blend of wheat and chickpea flour had 86% less acrylamide than the same cookies made with only wheat flour (10).
Summary Chickpeas contain antioxidants and may help fight free radicals. Using chickpea flour in processed foods seems to reduce their content of harmful acrylamide.
Chickpea flour is a great alternative to wheat flour if you’re trying to reduce your calorie intake.
Compared to the same serving of refined wheat flour, 1 cup (92 grams) of chickpea flour has about 25% fewer calories. This means it’s less energy dense (1).
Energy density and portion size have been studied extensively for their role in weight management.
Researchers believe that maintaining the portion sizes you’re used to while choosing foods with fewer calories is a more effective weight loss strategy than simply eating less (11, 12).
In a 12-week, randomized study in 44 overweight adults, participants who were instructed to eat more lower-calorie foods lost 4–8 pounds (1.8–3.6 kg) more than those given more complex dietary instructions (13).
Therefore, replacing wheat flour with chickpea flour may help you cut calories without necessarily changing your portion sizes.
Summary Chickpea flour has 25% fewer calories than white flour, making it less energy dense. Eating more lower-calorie foods may help you reduce calorie intake while eating the portion sizes you’re used to.
Researchers have theorized for decades that legumes, including chickpeas and lentils, decrease hunger.
A 2014 review of studies noted that including legumes in the diet increased feelings of fullness after a meal by 31%. (14).
What’s more, chickpea flour itself may decrease hunger. Though not all studies agree, some found a relationship between eating chickpea flour and increased feelings of fullness (15, 16, 17, 18).
One way chickpea flour may decrease hunger is by regulating the hunger hormone ghrelin. Lower ghrelin levels are thought to promote feelings of fullness.
In an observational study in 16 women, those who ate a pastry made of 70% white flour and 30% chickpea flour had lower levels of ghrelin than participants who ate a pastry made of 100% white flour (16).
However, more research is needed to fully understand the effects of chickpea flour on appetite and hunger hormones.
Summary Chickpea flour may decrease hunger by regulating the hunger hormone ghrelin. Still, more research is needed to explore this effect.
Chickpea flour has about half the carbs of white flour and thus may affect blood sugar differently (1).
The Glycemic Index (GI) is a measure of how rapidly a food breaks down into sugars that can spike your blood sugar.
Glucose, the sugar your body prefers to use for energy, has a GI of 100, meaning it increases your blood sugar fastest. White flour has a GI of about 70 (19).
Chickpeas have a GI of 6, and snacks made from chickpea flour are thought to have a GI of 28–35. They’re low-GI foods that would have a more gradual effect on blood sugar than white flour (20, 21).
Two observational studies in 23 people combined discovered that eating foods made with chickpea flour kept blood sugar levels lower than eating foods made with white or whole-wheat flour (22, 18).
A similar study in 12 healthy women noted that whole-wheat bread made with 25–35% chickpea flour affected blood sugar significantly less than both white bread and 100% whole-wheat bread (15).
However, more and larger studies are needed to investigate the relationship between chickpea flour and blood sugar.
Summary Chickpea flour is a low-GI food that has a gradual effect on blood sugar. In some small studies, eating foods made with chickpea flour resulted in decreased blood sugar, compared to products made with wheat flour. Still, more research is needed.
Chickpea flour is packed with fiber, as chickpeas themselves are naturally high in this nutrient.
One cup (92 grams) of chickpea flour provides about 10 grams of fiber — triple the amount of fiber in white flour (1).
Fiber offers numerous health benefits, and chickpea fiber, in particular, has been associated with improved blood fat levels.
In a 12-week study in 45 adults, consuming four 10.5-ounce (300-gram) cans of chickpeas per week without making other dietary changes reduced total cholesterol levels by 15.8 mg/dl. The effect was most likely attributed to the fiber content of the chickpeas (23).
A similar study in 47 adults found that eating chickpeas for 5 weeks reduced total cholesterol by 3.9% and LDL (bad) cholesterol by 4.6%, compared to eating wheat (24).
Chickpeas also contain a type of fiber called resistant starch. In fact, in a study evaluating the resistant starch content of several foods, roasted chickpeas ranked in the top two alongside unripe bananas (25).
Research shows that chickpeas can be composed of up to 30% resistant starch depending on how they’re processed. One analysis found that chickpea flour made from precooked chickpeas contained 4.4% resistant starch (26, 27).
Resistant starch remains undigested until it reaches your large intestine, where it serves as a food source for your healthy gut bacteria. It has been linked to a reduced risk of several conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colon cancer (28, 29).
Summary Chickpea flour is high in fiber, which may help improve blood fat levels. It also contains a type of fiber called resistant starch, which has been linked to several health benefits.
Chickpea flour is higher in protein than other flours, including white and whole-wheat flour.
A 1-cup (92-gram) serving of chickpea flour provides 20 grams of protein, compared to 13 grams in white flour and 16 grams in whole-wheat flour (1).
Your body needs protein to build muscle and recover from injury and illness. It also plays an important role in weight management.
High-protein foods keep you fuller longer, and your body has to burn more calories to digest these foods (30).
In addition, due to its role in muscle growth, eating adequate protein will help you preserve lean muscle mass, which is especially important if you’re losing weight (31).
Furthermore, chickpeas are an excellent protein source for vegetarians and vegans, as they contain 8 of the 9 essential amino acids, the structural components of protein that must come from your diet (32).
The remaining, methionine, can be found in large quantities in other plant foods like baby lima beans (33).
Summary Chickpea flour is higher in protein than wheat flour, which may help decrease hunger and increase the number of calories you burn. Chickpeas are an ideal protein source for vegetarians, as they provide nearly all of the essential amino acids.
Chickpea flour is an excellent substitute for wheat flour.
It has a better nutrient profile than refined flour, as it provides more vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein but fewer calories and carbs.
Because it doesn’t contain wheat, it’s also appropriate for people with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or wheat allergy. Still, if you’re worried about cross-contamination, look for certified gluten-free varieties.
Furthermore, it behaves similarly to refined flour in fried and baked foods.
It’s a dense flour that somewhat mimics the action of gluten in wheat flour when cooked by adding structure and chewiness (34).
In an attempt to formulate a new gluten-free bread, researchers found that a combination of three parts chickpea flour and one part potato or cassava starch was ideal. Still, using only chickpea flour produced an acceptable product as well (35).
Plus, replacing only 30% of wheat flour in a cookie recipe with chickpea flour boosted the nutrient and protein contents of the cookies while maintaining a pleasant taste and appearance (36).
Summary Chickpea flour is a great substitute for wheat flour, as it acts similarly during cooking. It’s a great alternative for people with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or wheat allergy.
You can easily make chickpea flour at home. All you need are dried chickpeas, a cookie sheet, food processor, and sifter.
Here’s how to make your own chickpea flour:
- If you want roasted chickpea flour, place the dried chickpeas on a cookie sheet and roast them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350°F (175°C) or until golden brown. This step is optional.
- Grind the chickpeas in a food processor until a fine powder forms.
- Sift the flour to separate any large chickpea pieces that did not grind adequately. You can discard these pieces or run them through the food processor again.
For maximum shelf life, store your chickpea flour at room temperature in an airtight container. This way it will keep for 6–8 weeks.
Chickpea flour can be used in several ways:
- as a replacement for wheat flour in baking
- combined with wheat flour to improve the healthfulness of your baked goods
- as a natural thickener in soups and curries
- to make traditional Indian dishes, such as pakora (vegetable fritters) or laddu (small dessert pastries)
- to make pancakes or crepes
- as a light and airy breading for fried foods
Summary It’s easy to make chickpea flour at home using only dried chickpeas and a few common kitchen tools. Chickpea flour can be used in many different ways.
Chickpea flour is full of healthy nutrients. It’s a great alternative to refined wheat flour, as it’s lower in carbs and calories yet richer in protein and fiber.
Research suggests that it may have antioxidant potential and could decrease levels of the harmful compound acrylamide in processed foods.
It has culinary properties similar to wheat flour and is suitable for people with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or wheat allergy.
Chickpea flour is a tasty, nutritious, and simple swap that will help improve the healthfulness of your diet.
You can find chickpea flour in stores and online, though it’s also incredibly easy to make at home.
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