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.

glutino chocolate dreams

Glutino Chocolate Dreams -- I'd say they're more like chocolate passing thoughts. When I imagine chocolate dreams, I imagine much richer, thicker, higher-quality chocolate. But these are good little cookes. The cookie is dry and best when dipped in a glass of milk or cup of tea. The frosting in the middle is super-sweet, like the filling in some of those generic sandwich-cream cookies that it seems like you always had a grandma or older aunt who would buy them instead of Oreos.

Ingredients include corn starch, soy flour, and cocoa. The box warns they may contain traces of tree nuts and milk. (But what doesn't give a warning like that nowadays?)

I found them at Whole Foods and they can be purchased from a number of online merchants.

They come in little packages, 2 to a pack. But note that the nutritional information says that a serving size is 3 cookies. You have to eat a smaller serving size or a larger one, because no one in their right mind would open one of those little packs and eat just one cookie from it. Unless you are a parent who puts just one pack in your kid's lunchbox and doesn't let her read the serving size information. These would be handy for a road-trip, too, because you can easily put a pack or two in your day bag.

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