gluten-free flours, grains, and legumes in india

This is more for my personal reference, but if it helps anyone else, that's great! I'm sure this is not a comprehensive list. I'm making additions and adjustments all the time as I learn about new flours and different names in different regions. I can't really guarantee ultimate gluten-freeness because you never know about cross-contamination and kitchen conditions, but I can say I've been living in Hyderabad for almost a year now and I've only had one gluten incident, and I know exactly where it came from so I can now avoid it.

Here's what I've been working on:

India to English
 amaranthus = amaranth
 bajri = millet
 besan = lentil
 chana = chickpea
 cholam = sorghum
 corn flour (sometimes “corn flour” is actually corn starch)
 corn meal
 dhokla, dhokra = blend of rice, urad dal, and chickpeas
 gram = chickpea
 jowar = sorghum
 kurakkan = millet
 kuttu = buckwheat
 moog dal = lentil
 mung dal = legume
 okhla = buckwheat
 ragi = millet
 rajgira = buckwheat
 rice flour
 soya = soy flour
 urad dal = legume

English to India
 amaranth = amaranthus
 buckwheat = kuttu, okhla, rajgira
 chickpea/lentil/legume = besan, chana, dal (moog, mung, urad), gram
 corn flour (sometimes “corn flour” is actually corn starch in India)
 corn meal
 millet = bajri, kurakken, ragi
 rice flour
 sorghum = cholam, jowar
 soy = soya
 blend of rice, dal, chickpeas = dhokla, dhokra

I have compiled this list through personal experience, discussions with bakers and cooks here, and with help from Cook's Thesaurus and the discussion boards at Celiac.com.

labonel fine baking

The people of Hyderabad like their sweets. There is no shortage of chocolate cakes at bakeries, coffee shops, grocery store bakery counters, and restaurants. It's been difficult, being a gluten-free chocoholic and having to face cakes every time I leave the house. Some places offer a chocolate mousse, and I've been eating my way through the mousses of the city, but those are a topic for another post.

A couple weeks ago Mike came home and announced he'd found a gluten-free bakery. They are not specifically gluten-free, but the head baker is familiar with the gluten-free diet and has perfected a few treats with the local flours. For Mother's Day, Mike brought home a chocolate cake from Labonel Fine Baking.

Labonel uses millet flour as the base for their gluten-free cakes. The texture was great, but the flavor was a little off. I loved the chocolate icing, but the millet lends sort of a grassy flavor to the cake. It grew on me, though, and we've been picking away at the cake all week long.

Whether gluten-free, eggless, or "regular," Labonel's treats are only available as custom orders. They are a little tricky to find, being that the office is on the side of a house behind a gate with no sign. It's like a secret society. A secret, chocolate-cake-loving society. You can find their products and directions to the house on their website.

cranberry zucchini muffins

Are those silicon baking things supposed to steam and smell like melting plastic about 5 minutes after you put them in the oven? I didn't think so. But nothing appeared to be melting or burning, so I decided to let the baking run its course.

I'm still getting some good, locally grown, inexpensive summer squash, so why not one more go-round with the zucchini quick bread recipe I tried a few months ago? I used dried cranberries this time and decided to go with muffin form instead of a loaf of bread.

2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, melted, or oil (I used canola oil)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups zucchini, peeled and shredded
1 cup yellow raisins (I used dried cranberries)
1/2 cup plain nuts, chopped (I used pecans)
1 cup rice flour (I used white rice flour)
1/2 cup millet flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 envelope (.25 oz or 7 g) gelatin

Preheat oven to 350. [Place cupcake liners in muffin pans.] Beat eggs. Add honey, butter or oil, vanilla, grated zucchini, [dried cranberries], and nuts to beaten eggs. Sift together flours, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon, salt, and gelatin. Fold dry ingredients into liquids--this will keep it light (stirring it all gently works too). Pour into prepared pans. Bake for about [15] minutes. (Info in brackets is what I modified for making muffins instead of the quick bread this is the recipe for in the book The Best-Ever Wheat- and Gluten-Free Baking Book.)

I think that muffins are great for this recipe and the cranberries are better than the apricots I used last time. Instead of a dense, rich bread, I have tasty little pops of muffiny goodness. They are moist, but not too moist. And they aren't too sweet, which makes them perfect for breakfast. They aren't terribly attractive though. I think that's a trade-off when dealing with homemade muffins. They taste 1,000 times better than something you'll buy in a package, but let's say they, um, have rustic charm in the looks department.



The steaming muffin pans seemed to not be a problem. The muffins taste fine. And if they are poisonous, well, then at least I'll go with a tummy full of yummy muffins.

millet bread

Yeast breads and I don't have a good relationship, but I continue to try making them. A few weeks ago I tried making millet bread from a recipe I found on Recipe Source. I put off posting about it because I ate about 2 slices of it, it tasted bad, and then it went bad after only 3 days. So it was thrown out and forgotten about. But I felt it was time to finally spread the word.

The first sign of something going wrong should have been when I noticed my soy flour was a few months past the expiration date. It smelled okay so I used it anyway. Note that I have no idea what expired soy flour smells like, so it could have smelled rancid, but not bad, if you know what I mean.

I mixed everything together successfully and it rose during the 45 minutes just like it was supposed to, so I was feeling better. I put it in the oven, using my 5 x 9 loaf pan instead of the 4 x 8 pan the recipe suggests. After 30 minutes I peeked at it, and it had sunk! No more rising. Thin brick of bread. At 40 minutes it had started to brown on top so I took it out of the oven.

When it was cool I sliced into it. Yuck. Is it possible I don't like millet flour? Was my soy flour really expired? I won't know either of these answers until I make something else with millet flour. I've tossed the soy flour just to be safe.

The next day I wanted to give the bread another try, maybe I could salvage it. So I made French toast. Not a bad way to use dense, weird tasting bread. Still yuck.

On the third day I was taking stock of the kitchen contents, throwing old foods out of the fridge and pantry, and I saw mold starting to appear on the bread. So away it went. And I'm hesitant to try a third millet recipe (it's used in the zucchini bread) right now, but I want to use the package I have before moving on to a new flour.

Full recipe:
Millet Bread from Recipe Source
1 cup Plain yogurt or buttermilk (I used nonfat plain yogurt)
1/4 cup Butter
1 Tb Honey
1 package Dry yeast (I took this to mean the 1/4 oz. packs)
1/4 cup Warm water
2 Eggs
2 cups AM Millet Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup AM Soy Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

Combine yogurt and butter in saucepan, heating slowly to melt butter. Dissolve yeast and honey in the warm water; add yogurt mixture and blend. Beat in eggs; add flours and beat well. Pour into well-oiled 4″ x 8″ loaf pan and let rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 375 F. for 40-45 minutes or until done. Cool before cutting.
Source: Arrowhead Mills “Recipes for Special Dietary Needs” tri-fold Reprinted by permission of Arrowhead Mills, Inc. Electronic format courtesy of: Karen Mintzias

zucchini quick bread

A couple days ago, before it got too hot to light the oven, I baked zucchini bread. I slightly modified the recipe from The Best-Ever Wheat- and Gluten-Free Baking Book. (Hate that title; love the book as a reference.) The recipe called for zucchini (obviously), eggs, melted butter (I used canola oil), honey, rice flour, millet flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, xanthan gum, vanilla, an envelope of gelatin, raisins, and plain nuts. I don't know what "plain" nuts are so I used pecans. And I don't love raisins so I chopped some dried apricots.

Notice it doesn't say "quick zucchini bread". It took me awhile to chop and grate everything.

The recipe calls for two 8 x 4 loaf pans. I figured I'd fill one loaf pan and use the rest of the batter for muffins, then freeze either the loaf or the muffins for later. I emptied out my cupboards to discover that all 4 of the loaf pans I own are 9 x 5 pans. So, okay, I'll make a 9 x 5 loaf and use the rest for muffins. I decided to try my new silicone loaf pan--first time with silicone baking "dishes".

The batter came together just fine, until I started folding in the flour mixture. This was my first use of gelatin in baking and I wasn't sure what would happen with it but I decided to trust the recipe-writer. The batter was an elasticky lump. I thought maybe I had used too much xanthan gum. It plopped into my loaf pan and I knew it would be too much trouble and mess to scoop some out for making muffins. So I just put my 9 x 5 loaf in the oven.

The recipe said to bake for about 25 minutes. In my mind I was factoring in using a larger loaf pan, which might require longer cooking time, but using silicone is supposed to reduce cooking time because it distributes the heat better or something. After 25 minutes, I still had a gooey mass. After 30 minutes, the same. 40 turned out to be the magic number. Browning on top, clean toothpick from the middle. Quick, take it out before it gets too dry!

Dryness turned out not to be a problem here. Between the honey, zucchini, apricots, xanthan, and gelatin, there was enough moisture and stickiness in this batter. And it didn't turn out gooey, like some other GF quick breads I've tried. It's a nicely held-together moist quick bread. And tasty! Not too sweet, perfect for breakfast or snacktime with a cup of coffee or tea. And very filling. With the nuts and millet flour and apricots and zucchini there's a lot of protein and fiber in this bread.

Wet vegetables in breads tend to get moldy, quickly. After 3 days I had eaten about half the loaf, and was completely full and ready to eat something else for breakfast. I knew I'd never eat the rest before it went bad. So it's in the freezer now. We'll see how it comes out after freezing.