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Besan nutrition, per serving and per 100 g
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 99 kcal | 329 kcal |
| Protein | 6.5 g | 21.6 g |
| Carbohydrate (available) | 14 g | 46.7 g |
| Dietary fibre | 4.5 g | 15.2 g |
| Fat | 1.6 g | 5.3 g |
Serving: 30 g besan, enough for one chilla, weighed raw as IFCT reports it. IFCT 2017 food code B001, "Bengal gram, dal (Cicer arietinum)", the mean of 6 regions sampled. IFCT does not report glycaemic index, so this page prints none.
The verdict on besan
Protein anchor
Build a meal around it: it brings at least 6 g of protein for every 100 kcal.
- 6.6 g of protein for every 100 kcal.
- One serving gives 6.5 g of the roughly 58 g of protein a day ICMR-NIN's RDA sets for a 70 kg adult.
- 4.5 g of fibre in a serving.
How besan fits a plan that loses fat and keeps muscle
Gram flour carries 21.6 g of protein per 100 g, roughly double what wheat atta holds, and 15.2 g of fibre. That makes a besan chilla one of the easiest high-protein vegetarian breakfasts in an Indian kitchen, and a good partner for a fat-loss plan.
Two chillas from 60 g of besan, cooked with a teaspoon of oil and filled with onion, tomato and spinach, give a breakfast with real protein that keeps most people full until lunch. The same flour in pakoras is a different food: deep frying adds far more than the besan does.
Besan in an Indian kitchen
Besan is easy to over-use as a coating, so the swap is to use it as the meal rather than the batter. A chilla made with besan, water, onion, tomato, coriander and ajwain, cooked thin on a non-stick tawa, needs very little oil. Besan kadhi with curd is a light, sour curry when the pakoras are left out. Steamed dhokla and khandvi are Gujarati ways to eat besan without frying; the tadka on top is where the oil goes, so keep it small.
Pair it, or swap it
Besan chilla with a katori of curd, or stuffed with crumbled paneer, is a high-protein breakfast. Adding a spoon of besan to roti dough lifts the protein of an ordinary roti.
Worth knowing
Pakoras, bhujia, sev and besan ladoo use the same flour with oil, ghee or sugar. Make chillas on a non-stick tawa with a measured teaspoon of oil.
Besan against similar foods
| Food | Energy | Protein | Fibre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Besan | 329 kcal | 21.6 g | 15.2 g |
| Whole kala chana | 287 kcal | 18.8 g | 25.2 g |
| Wheat atta | 320 kcal | 10.6 g | 11.4 g |
| Moong dal | 326 kcal | 23.9 g | 9.4 g |