Besan — The Energy Powerhouse

      Households were already well aware of the value of nutrition long before laboratories began to compile nutrition charts and percentages. And within every grain of this golden flour rests a secret, which generations bore onward—a truth that gave life in the fields, in the home, and in the rites.

        Science today suggests that 100 grams of besan contain approx 22.4 grams of protein, 10.8 grams of dietary fiber, and a treasure trove of minerals, including iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and folate. But the history of besan cannot be reduced to figures.

         On long, sun-scorched days in the village fields, farmers carried plain besan rotis. They never talked of glycemic response or complex carbohydrates, but they had a sense that these rotis provided them with slow-burning energy, the kind that burned like the wick of an oil lamp—steady and unfaltering. They named it takat: a force to stand firm.

         Mothers also believed in its abundance. On festival or fast days, they rolled besan laddus with ghee—sweets that were not only festive but nourishing. Children came back from school to find besan chillas waiting on the tava: crisp, golden, and filling in a way that rice or wheat alone rarely provided.

           Even outside the kitchen, Besan was a friend. Its paste, combined with milk or turmeric, has been used in beauty rituals, both in daily care and in the divine radiance of a wedding. In all its manifestations, whether food or topical, besan had a place in the daily rhythms.

         The wisdom of the ages has merely ratified what the households of antiquity instinctively understood. Besan is gluten-free, rich in plant-based protein, and versatile enough for a variety of recipes. Ayurveda used to explain the virtues of roasted pulses in terms of balance and vitality; modern nutritionists repeat the same message in charts and research.

          Every golden grain, made of the simple chickpea, carries this timeless duality: simple yet strong, modest yet remarkable. It helps us remember that real food does not have to be exotic or rare. It may be as plain as besan—down-to-earth, nourishing, and abiding through the ages.

        Besan, then, is not just flour. It is a heritage of strength, linking the wisdom of grandmothers to the science of today, and a silent reminder that the most ordinary things often have the most power.