Share
Indian kitchens have a special place for wheat flour, highly trusted for its nutrient value and adaptable quality. It is an incredibly important ingredient for Indian cuisines for preparing some delicious flavourful dishes for every occasion. From baking loaves of bread to the Indian paranthas and some delicious savories, wheat flour is highly admired for its versatility.
Despite being one of the staple food of India, plenty of people have stopped noshing on dishes made from wheat flour. So why do we often stop at wheat as flour of choice? A lot of people cut down wheat flour due to its high gluten content and some of them stop wheat intake due to its high carbohydrate content. Whole wheat flour or white wheat is not the healthiest choice widely, it can be replaced with the other wholesome flour that is similar to wheat but different in nutrition value, texture, and taste.
Health coach Shriya Naheta Wadhwa tells HealthShots, “The path to enjoying the benefits of healthy, balanced, and flavourful meals is in increasing the diversity on our plates.”
“Nagging allergies and gluten intolerance, which make many of our favorite foods inaccessible, are some other reasons to look for an alternative to wheat flour,” adds the founder of Zama Organics.
Many available alternatives can help us dodge allergies, intolerances, and other health concerns while elevating our plates with nutritious goodness, comments Wadhwa. So here are a few easy swaps of wheat flour for various cooking or baking needs to experiment with and provide some versatility to our meals!
Add these 3 wheat flour alternatives to your kitchen:
1. Almond Flour
If you are looking for a gluten-free baking alternative, almond flour should be high on your radar. Almond flour is especially great in baked goods because of its naturally sweet and nutty taste. The flour’s grainy texture also helps in creating dense dishes and works well in pancakes, cookies, scones, cakes, biscuits, and more!
Benefits:
- Healthy option for people with celiac disease, as it is gluten-free
- High magnesium content helps in controlling sugar levels
- Rich in antioxidants and vitamin E
- Healthy for gut health, as contains prebiotic dietary fibers.
2. Quinoa Flour
Quinoa is a protein-packed seed and its flour makes for an easy and delicious gluten-free option! It can completely replace regular wheat flour in equal proportion or be combined with it to make rotis, bread, cupcakes, and much more!
Benefits:
- Healthy for people with gluten-intolerance
- Good source of protein
- High in vitamins and minerals
- Good for people with diabetes, cholesterol, heart problems
3. Ragi Flour
Ragi, also known as nachni or finger millet, is a reddish super grain loaded with nutrients – which makes it a wholesome replacement for whole wheat flour. This tasty millet can be used to make porridge, rotis, pancakes, and even bread.
As we chase wellness, it is high time we take advantage of the versatile whole foods that are now available and pursue happier and healthier tummies.
Benefits:
- Loaded with proteins and calcium
- It contains anti-aging properties, hence good for skin
- Increase production of mothers milk
- Aids in digestion
