I was in the only Indian market in my area yesterday, stocking up on fresh
curry leaves, and fell into conversation with the proprietor. We discussed
Indian breads, which I used to make from chapati flour, and I told her that
I was looking for lower carb/higher fiber alternatives. She pointed out
Besan flour, which is ground chana dal. She said that it can be used to
make pakoras and similar items, although not naan, poori, or other typically
wheat-based breads. She said she like to try to control her fat intake, so
that rather than making pakoras--which are deep fried, for those who are not
familiar with them--she more often uses it to make something that is roughly
similar to a savory pancake/crepe or a thin frittata. She said to mix up a
batter of besan flour and water to whatever consistency works, and stir in
minced onion and other diced/minced vegetables, S&P and perhaps some spices,
then fry in a skillet. She eats this with Indian condiments such as mint or
coriander chutney, yogurt raita, and so forth. (Tzatziki sauce would be
great, I think.) I bought a bag, and am looking forward to giving it a
whirl.

BTW, she said that no eggs are required in the batter: you are basically
using the besan flour instead of egg, if you think of it as a frittata.

Janet > wrote:
: I was in the only Indian market in my area yesterday, stocking up on fresh
: curry leaves, and fell into conversation with the proprietor. We discussed
: Indian breads, which I used to make from chapati flour, and I told her that
: I was looking for lower carb/higher fiber alternatives. She pointed out
: Besan flour, which is ground chana dal. She said that it can be used to
: make pakoras and similar items, although not naan, poori, or other typically
: wheat-based breads. She said she like to try to control her fat intake, so
: that rather than making pakoras--which are deep fried, for those who are not
: familiar with them--she more often uses it to make something that is roughly
: similar to a savory pancake/crepe or a thin frittata. She said to mix up a
: batter of besan flour and water to whatever consistency works, and stir in
: minced onion and other diced/minced vegetables, S&P and perhaps some spices,
: then fry in a skillet. She eats this with Indian condiments such as mint or
: coriander chutney, yogurt raita, and so forth. (Tzatziki sauce would be
: great, I think.) I bought a bag, and am looking forward to giving it a
: whirl.

: BTW, she said that no eggs are required in the batter: you are basically
: using the besan flour instead of egg, if you think of it as a frittata.

How would this be for "breading" meats, etc that ou don't want to fuly
batter like with the pancake mix?

Wendy-looking for new food adventures like floured chicken cutlets.
Wow!"-)

In article >,
"W. Baker" > wrote:

> Janet > wrote:
> : I was in the only Indian market in my area yesterday, stocking up on fresh
> : curry leaves, and fell into conversation with the proprietor. We discussed
> : Indian breads, which I used to make from chapati flour, and I told her that
> : I was looking for lower carb/higher fiber alternatives. She pointed out
> : Besan flour, which is ground chana dal. She said that it can be used to
> : make pakoras and similar items, although not naan, poori, or other
> : typically
> : wheat-based breads. She said she like to try to control her fat intake, so
> : that rather than making pakoras--which are deep fried, for those who are
> : not
> : familiar with them--she more often uses it to make something that is
> : roughly
> : similar to a savory pancake/crepe or a thin frittata. She said to mix up a
> : batter of besan flour and water to whatever consistency works, and stir in
> : minced onion and other diced/minced vegetables, S&P and perhaps some
> : spices,
> : then fry in a skillet. She eats this with Indian condiments such as mint or
> : coriander chutney, yogurt raita, and so forth. (Tzatziki sauce would be
> : great, I think.) I bought a bag, and am looking forward to giving it a
> : whirl.
>
> : BTW, she said that no eggs are required in the batter: you are basically
> : using the besan flour instead of egg, if you think of it as a frittata.
>
> How would this be for "breading" meats, etc that ou don't want to fuly
> batter like with the pancake mix?
>
> Wendy-looking for new food adventures like floured chicken cutlets.
> Wow!"-)

There is a cauliflower dish in my favorite Indian restaurant in which
the florets are deep fried in a batter that sounds like this and then
tossed in a spicy tomato sauce. The "breading" is heavier than, say, a
tempura, but much more bg-friendly.

--
"Isn't embarrassing to quote something you didn't read and then attack
what it didn't say?"--WG, where else but Usenet

On 7/21/2011 5:25 PM, Alice Faber wrote:

> There is a cauliflower dish in my favorite Indian restaurant in which
> the florets are deep fried in a batter that sounds like this and then
> tossed in a spicy tomato sauce. The "breading" is heavier than, say, a
> tempura, but much more bg-friendly.
>

Yes! That is a very nice dish. I've seen it with a butter curry type
sauce as well. I guess there could be many sauce variations, but the
base cauliflower battered and deep fried would be the same. The dish
i'm thinking of isn't oily either, very light and very nice.

kate

Tiger Lily wrote:
> On 7/21/2011 5:25 PM, Alice Faber wrote:
>
>> There is a cauliflower dish in my favorite Indian restaurant in which
>> the florets are deep fried in a batter that sounds like this and then
>> tossed in a spicy tomato sauce. The "breading" is heavier than, say,
>> a tempura, but much more bg-friendly.
>>
>
> Yes! That is a very nice dish. I've seen it with a butter curry type
> sauce as well. I guess there could be many sauce variations, but the
> base cauliflower battered and deep fried would be the same. The dish
> i'm thinking of isn't oily either, very light and very nice.
>
> kate

I have a head of cauliflower, and I might try that tonight!

Janet wrote:
> Tiger Lily wrote:
>> On 7/21/2011 5:25 PM, Alice Faber wrote:
>>
>>> There is a cauliflower dish in my favorite Indian restaurant in
>>> which the florets are deep fried in a batter that sounds like this
>>> and then tossed in a spicy tomato sauce. The "breading" is heavier
>>> than, say, a tempura, but much more bg-friendly.
>>>
>>
>> Yes! That is a very nice dish. I've seen it with a butter curry
>> type sauce as well. I guess there could be many sauce variations,
>> but the base cauliflower battered and deep fried would be the same. The
>> dish i'm thinking of isn't oily either, very light and very nice.
>>
>> kate
>
> I have a head of cauliflower, and I might try that tonight!

Instead of the cauliflower, I made "pancakes" with about 5 cups grated
zucchini, 1 each diced red and yellow peppers, a few TBS of chopped
cilantro, and spices including about 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chipotle pepper,
1/2 tsp turmeric, and 1 tsp homemade Madras curry powder. And about 1 tsp
salt and some fresh ground black pepper. To this I added slightly over a cup
of besan flour and stirred well. The liquid from the zucchini was enough,
with no added water. (I actually started with a cup, and then added a little
more. It probably wasn't necessary.)

Fried in olive oil in a cast iron skillet for 5 min per side, according to
the suggestion I found in a recipe on the internet. We had them with
tzatziki sauce. Delicious!

I don't know what it did to my BG, since I'm out of test strips until the
prescription renewal goes through on Monday, but it was crispy and very
flavorful, less carby than 2 ounces of dry Plus pasta, with just enough
"batter" to hold together the vegetables into a cake.

This is a dish of cauliflower in my favorite Indian restaurant, where the flowers are fried in a batter that looks like this and then in a spicy tomato sauce. The breadcrumbs is heavier than, say, a tempura, but much more BG-friendly.