Swap Gram Flour For Khapli Atta In These Besan-Based

Regional Indian Preparations

Quick Summary

Love fusion foods or experimenting in general? Then use khapli atta instead of besan or gram flour, or a blend of both in popular preparations from gatte ki sabzi to kahndvi. You get the same delicious results with a tinge of earthy, nutty flavour and a softer bite. Why stick to just rotis just because they have atta in their name? If you want more inspiration, try popular tea-time snacks made from this nutrient-dense atta, including mathri, nankhatai, and Parsi mawa cake.

Deep Dive

Until recently, it was hard to find khapli atta and besan on the same shelf, let alone a mixing bowl, but that's changing in kitchens looking to stretch the ancient grain beyond rotis. Besan, ground from chana dal, carries zero gluten, and its dishes get their bind from moisture, fat, and steam, not stretch. Khapli wheat flour, while far lower in gluten than regular atta, still has some. 

This sole difference determines whether a swap works well or turns the dish into a texture that makes you feel queasy. Different recipes call for a mix of ingredients, and their behaviour changes with swaps and substitutions, so there is no straight one-for-one substitution across the board. Knowing which preparations benefit from khapli wheat flour and which benefit from besan saves a lot of ingredients.

Why Khapli Atta is Even in the Conversation

Khapli, or Emmer wheat, has been growing in farmlands in India for thousands of years, long before the country was introduced to the current, high-yield modern wheat via colonisers. It went off the radar in the early 2000s, as cultivation dipped because the grain is hard to thresh and yields less per acre. What made it have a massive comeback is health-conscious households, for the same reasons that besan already offers. 

Three chapatis made with khapli wheat provide close to 23% of the daily protein requirement and around 34% of the daily fibre needs, along with iron and Vitamin B1, which support energy metabolism. It's also naturally low in sugar, low in saturated fat, and free of trans fat. For someone already eating besan dishes for protein and fibre, khapli atta is the perfect swap, and not a downgrade.

Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta is a good place for anyone experimenting, since it's stone-ground and widely available rather than a niche speciality-store find. Khapli wheat flour still makes up under 1% of India's total wheat output, concentrated in Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, and pockets of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, which happens to be the same geography as most of the dishes below.

What Actually Happens When Khapli Meets Besan

Cooking with besan in the mix requires it to remain inert, as there is no need for gluten development, leaving no scope to fight for elasticity. That's exactly why gatte hold their shape when boiled and why pithla thickens into a smooth mass instead of turning stringy, which would happen if a highly glutinous dough were used. Introduce khapli, even in small amounts, and you end up adding a little structure into any besan-centric dish. 

Doughs have the advantage of binding better than besan batters and of not collapsing, making them well-suited to keeping their shape when boiling or steaming, with less fat needed to compensate. Batters, on the other hand, need watching, as khapli soaks up more liquid than besan does, so a batter that looked right a minute ago can turn stiff as the flour keeps absorbing water as it rests. The safest bet is a partial swap. Replace a third to half the besan with khapli atta, rather than going all-in on the first try.

Swapping Besan With Khapli, Dish By Dish

As mentioned above, with a change in composition of ingredients as well as the very ingredients and their preparation methods, using a standard swap might not work out well, so here are some popular besan-based dishes and how to adjust them to khapli atta:

Gatte ki sabzi

One of the famous Rajasthani dishes made with gram flour dumplings, boiled and then dropped into a tangy yoghurt gravy, is the perfect recipe for the swap. The dough is already kneaded with ghee or curd, so the binding is not the issue; the khapli atta gluten does the rest. Expect the gatte to be slightly denser, with a chewier bite than the besan counterpart, closer to what a wheat dumpling feels like than a chickpea one. Tip: Rest the dough a few extra minutes before shaping it, and knead in a bit more liquid than the besan version calls for. Serve with a millet roti or plain rice.

Kothimbir vadi

Maharashtra's steamed-then-fried coriander snack is another great besan-based dish perfect for using khapli atta. The batter is already thick, and the rice flour in most versions does some of the binding. A besan-khapli blend steams into a firmer block that slices well, making portioning easier. Watch the steaming time, as a khapli-heavy batter can need a few extra minutes to cook in the centre. Pan-fry the cut pieces in a shallow film of oil, and serve with green chutney or a cup of chai.

Khandvi

This is one of the more challenging swaps; it presents itself as a roll that might be a bit of a struggle to make with khapli wheat. Khandvi needs a smooth batter that spreads paper-thin without tearing, then rolls into tight and soft spirals while still warm. Khapli atta’s weaker gluten reduces both softness and tenacity, making the sheet more prone to cracking rather than rolling well. Khandvi is best left as a pure besan preparation, or attempted only with a very small proportion of khapli wheat, around a quarter of the total flour.

Pithla

What gatte ki sabzi is to Rajasthan, pithla is to Maharashtra: a simple besan curry eaten with bhakri that can seamlessly fit in a khapli wheat substitution, as there is no special technique, like with khandvi, involved, and the dish is cooked until thick, regardless of what flour goes in. The batter needs to stay thin and lump-free before it hits the hot oil, so whisk khapli into water more patiently than besan requires, as it tends to clump faster. The curry will taste a tad nuttier and look slightly less smooth, with a coarser mouthfeel, than those in the Western region are accustomed to. Pair it with jowar or bajra bhakri and a raw onion on the side.

Mirchi bajji

Andhra's batter-fried stuffed green chillies, like many bhajjis around the country, use a thick besan coating that fries into a crunchy yet spongy result, and this is a swap that needs extra care. Khapli atta, when deep-fried, will not taste or behave the same as besan, as it will be less crisp and tougher due to its gluten. To add crispiness, there’s a common trick: use some rice flour and cut down on the khapli portion for crispy results. Keep the batter on the thicker side and fry in two rounds: one to let the coating set, then another for crispiness.

Besan chilla

The most common everyday savoury Indian breakfast pancake, that is a quick fix for hunger pangs, rushed breakfast, and for those watching their weight, can easily be swapped for khapli wheat flour, or used as a blend. Chilla is essentially a thin batter cooked quickly in a pan with no special technique involved. A besan-khapli batter spreads less freely, so thin it with slightly more water than usual and pour it faster before it sets. Finished chillas taste earthier and can be enjoyed with any kind of chutneys or curd. You can also roll it around a protein-rich filling.

Besan Versus Khapli Atta

Khapli Atta for Besan-Based Dishes

This is not a comparison schtick or putting down besan because khapli atta is superior. Neither option is a miracle flour and have their own advantages, and using khapli atta to experiment with in dishes that don’t use them is a good idea if you happen to like the taste of this atta, and the fact that it is nutritionally denser and also has a decent amount of fibre and protein and is increasingly being added to pantries of people who consciously want to add better nitrotion per ingredients into their plates.