India has been eating gluten-free grains for thousands of years. Long before "millet" became a health-food buzzword, ragi rotis, bajra khichdi and makki di roti were everyday food. Here is a guide to the most useful gluten-free flours, what each one brings to the table, and how they behave in baking.
Millets
Ragi (finger millet)
Earthy, slightly nutty and reddish-brown, ragi is a good source of calcium and fibre. It gives biscuits a deep colour and a rustic, crumbly texture, and pairs beautifully with jaggery, cardamom and chocolate.
Jowar (sorghum)
Mild and slightly sweet, jowar is one of the most versatile gluten-free flours. It is a good base for rotis, cookies and cakes because it does not overpower other flavours.
Bajra (pearl millet)
Robust and nutty, bajra is a winter favourite in north India. It has a stronger taste and is best blended with milder flours in baking.
Other naturally gluten-free flours
- Rice flour — neutral and light; adds crispness to biscuits.
- Besan (gram flour) — high in protein, with a distinctive flavour; great in savoury bakes and Indian sweets.
- Makki (maize/corn) flour — sweet and coarse; good in flatbreads and crunchy snacks.
- Almond flour — rich and moist; adds healthy fats and a tender crumb to cookies and cakes. Note that almonds are tree nuts.
- Kuttu (buckwheat) — despite the name, buckwheat is not related to wheat and is naturally gluten-free. Kuttu atta sold for fasting is often milled near wheat, so choose a gluten-free-labelled pack.
- Rajgira (amaranth) — a pseudo-grain with a pleasant toasty flavour.
What about oats?
Oats themselves do not contain gluten, but regular oats are very often contaminated with wheat or barley during farming, transport and milling. Oats grown and processed to be gluten-free are suitable for most people with celiac disease, though a small number of people react to oats too. If you have celiac disease, choose oats labelled gluten-free and follow your doctor's advice about including them.
Baking without gluten: what changes?
Gluten gives dough its stretch and structure. Without it, a single gluten-free flour tends to make bakes crumbly or dense. Gluten-free bakers solve this by:
- Blending flours — combining a whole-grain flour (ragi, jowar) with a lighter one (rice, almond) for balance of flavour and texture.
- Adding binders — ingredients such as psyllium husk (isabgol), ground flaxseed or chia help hold the dough together.
- Resting the dough — giving millet flours time to hydrate improves texture.
- Keeping things clean — separate utensils, sieves and storage prevent cross-contact with wheat flour.
Biscuits and cookies are among the most forgiving gluten-free bakes, which is why they are a great place to start. Our own recipes went through many rounds of testing with different flour blends before we were happy with the snap and crumb — taste the results in our gluten-free cookies and biscuits.
Want to understand labels before you buy flour? Read how to identify gluten-free products in India.
Gluten-free biscuits, baked in Delhi. Millet cookies, biscuits and granola — vegan-friendly, high fibre and lab-tested gluten-free.
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