Chickpea flour is one of the favorite foods of many people, and it has become very popular lately, especially for people who are looking for an alternative to traditional wheat flour, and who are sensitive to gluten.

Chickpeas is one of the very popular meals in our Arab society, as well as in India, and it is used as a main ingredient for many foods such as falafel, rosary, and acid is a meal that is very rich in nutrients. In this article, we will learn about chickpea flour in some detail, so read the following lines.

What is chickpea flour?

Chickpea flour or ground chickpeas, and in English Chickpea flour – Gram flour is ground chickpeas that can be purchased from some food stores, or can be easily made at home by grinding an appropriate amount of dried chickpeas in a blender.

Calories in chickpea flour

Chickpea flour is rich in nutrients, and it is a high-calorie meal because it contains large amounts of carbohydrates, and the calories per 100 grams of flour are about 387 calories.

Chickpea flour contains the following nutrients:

• protein.
• carbohydrates.
• Fats.
• Iron.
• fiber.
• Sodium.
• thiamine;
• folate
• phosphorous.
• copper.
• manganese.
• magnesium.

You can calculate your exact calories, and know the exact amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fats for chickpea flour and other items in your diet with the Calorie Calculator for each day.

Chickpea flour uses

Chickpea flour is usually used to eat while preparing delicious meals such as falafel, and various Indian meals. It can also be used as an ingredient in pizza, cakes, biscuits, pancakes, and making protein-rich rolls, especially in vegetarian diets.

Some people believe that there are other benefits to it, such as chickpea flour for the skin and face, but these beliefs are based on stories and experiments, and lack scientific research and proof of scientific evidence. Among its non-food uses:

• Make masks to reduce pimples.
• for hyperpigmentation.
• Skin scrub, dead skin removal.
• Masks to moisturize the skin with cream of milk, or banana.

Chickpea flour benefits

One of the most important benefits of chickpea flour is that it is considered a nutritional meal rich in nutrients, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, and one cup of flour contains almost your daily needs of folic acid, which plays a prominent role in avoiding deformities of the spine of fetuses during pregnancy. In addition, It also has the following benefits:

1. Rich in antioxidants

Chickpeas contain a type of antioxidant known as polyphenols. Antioxidants fight free radicals, thus preventing many diseases.
In a study to compare the types of flour, it showed that the flour made from chickpeas is the least type of flour that contains acrylamide, a substance believed to be cancer-causing, and has been linked to other problems such as problems with enzymes, hormones, nerves, and muscles.

2. Promotes heart health

10 randomized clinical trials, including 268 participants, showed that eating a diet rich in legumes helps reduce blood cholesterol levels, making it one of the suggested meals for heart health.

3. Helps control sugar levels

One source indicates that meals made from chickpea flour may be beneficial for diabetics, as the fiber helps slow down the absorption of sugar.

4. Supports good bacteria

Chickpeas and the flour made from them contain resistant starch, which is a food source for beneficial bacteria that live in the large intestine. These bacteria help protect the body from diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and colon cancer.

5. Suitable for people with gluten sensitivity

Since it is a flour made from legumes, it does not contain gluten like wheat flour, so it is suitable for making nutritional meals suitable for people who are sensitive to gluten.

6. Helps prevent birth defects

Since chickpeas are considered one of the great sources of folic acid, eating them during pregnancy helps in avoiding neural tube defects in the spine in fetuses.

7. It helps in losing weight

Because it contains protein and fiber, foods made from this flour are a good choice for people who want to lose weight, as these elements help you feel full for longer periods, reduce the feeling of hunger, and it may be one of the snacks between the main meals, but do not forget to count your calories .

How to prepare chickpea flour

If you do not find this type of flour in the shops, you can easily make it at home, simply put an appropriate amount of dried chickpeas in a blender intended for grinding grains, then turn it on, and filter the flour to get rid of the pieces that are not well ground.

You can also make flour from canned chickpeas, by rinsing the chickpeas well with water, leaving them to dry, then roasting them in the oven for 30 or 40 minutes, then letting them cool down, and then following the previous step to grinding them.