Gram flour is a cereal flour

Flour

Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...

 made from ground chickpea

Chickpea

The chickpea is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae...

s. It is also known as chickpea flour, garbanzo flour, or besan ( beshon). Used in many countries, it is a staple ingredient in Indian

Indian cuisine

Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...

, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisines, and, in the form of a paste with water or yoghurt

Yoghurt

Yoghurt, yogurt or yogourt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yoghurt are known as "yoghurt cultures"...

, a popular facial

Facial

A facial is a procedure involving a variety of skin treatments, including: steam, exfoliation, extraction, creams, lotions, facial masks, peels, and massage...

 exfoliant in the Indian Subcontinent

Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...

. Moreover, when mixed with an equal proportion of water, it can be used as an egg-replacer in vegan

Veganism

Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...

 cooking.

Chila (or chilla), a pancake

Pancake

A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side...

 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

Gluten

Gluten is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye...

. Despite this, in comparison to other flours, it has a relatively high proportion of protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

.

Dishes

In other parts of South

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

 and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 the flour is used to make the following:

• bonda
  Bonda
  Bonda is a typical South Indian snack that has various sweet and spicy versions of it at different regions.-Preparation:The process of making a spicy bonda involves deep-frying potato filling dipped in gram flour batter.Bonda has a sweet and a spicy variant...
  
  
• pakora
  Pakora
  Pakora is a fried snack found across South Asia. Pakoras are created by taking one or two ingredients such as onion, eggplant, potato, spinach, plantain, cauliflower, tomato, chilli, or occasionally bread or chicken and dipping them in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them...
  
  s
• papadum
  Papadum
  Papadum, also known as papad in Northern India, , pappadam in Malayalam, happala in Kannada, appalam in Tamil, appadum in Telugu, pappadum or poppadom in the UK, is a thin, crisp Indian preparation sometimes described as a cracker. It is typically served as an accompaniment to a meal in India...
  
  s
• onion bhajji
  Bhajji
  For the Indian cricketer, see Harbhajan SinghFor the food item, see Bhajji Bhajji was a princely state in India. Until 1947, it was not part of British India but was subject to the suzerainty of the British crown....
  
  s
• Bikaneri Bhujia
  Bikaneri Bhujia
  Bikaneri Bhujia often simply called Bhujia is a famous crisp snack and is prepared by using besan and spices, originating from, Bikaner, a town in the western state of Rajasthan in India. Its other ingredients include moth dal, vegetable oil, salt, red chilli, black pepper, cardamom, cloves etc....
  
  
• Burmese tofu
  Burmese tofu
  Burmese tofu is a food of Shan origin and is different from Chinese tofu in that it is not made from soy milk and not set with a coagulant. Shan tofu is produced in a similar fashion to polenta, with its primary ingredient being water and flour ground from yellow split peas and the Burmese version...
  
  
• Dhokla
  Dhokla
  Dhokla or Dhokra is a vegetarian food item that originates from the Indian state of Gujarat. It is made with a fermented batter of gram flour . Dhokla can be eaten for breakfast, as a main course, as a side dish or as a snack...
  
  
• Mysore pak
  Mysore pak
  Mysore pak is a sweet dish of Karnataka, India, usually served as dessert. It is made of generous amounts of ghee , sugar and gram flour....
  
  
• jidou liangfen
  Jidou liangfen
  Jidou liangfen is a traditional dish in the Yunnan cuisine of China, made from chickpeas. It is gelatinous in texture and greenish-gray in color, and served in blocks, either cold, fried, or boiled. The dish is particularly popular among the Naxi people, in the region of Lijiang.-External links:*...
  
  

It is used in Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...

 to make farinata

Farinata

Farinata, socca, or cecina is a sort of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe of chickpea flour originating in Genoa and later a typical food of the Ligurian Sea coast, from Nice to Pisa.-Names:...

 and in French cuisine

French cuisine

French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...

 to make socca.

If parboiled potatoes are rolled in the flour prior to roasting they take on a golden colour and a crisp texture.