Why roasted gram should be your pantry staple
The beauty of roasted gram is that it blends smoothly, adds body to chutneys and keeps them from turning watery making it ideal for sandwich spreads or travel food
One morning, I had idlis steaming away for breakfast when I realised I was out of molaga podi—the classic spicy lentil powder we mix with sesame oil to accompany idlis and dosas. A quick scan of the fridge yielded barely two spoons of grated coconut, frozen solid. That’s when my pantry saviour stepped in: roasted gram, or pottu kadalai, as it’s known in Tamil.
This humble, beige-hued ingredient has an unmatched ability to rescue a chutney emergency. I blended it with the little coconut, a green chilli, a touch of tamarind and some salt, and I had a thick chutney that could rival any local darshini in Bengaluru. The beauty of roasted gram is that it blends smoothly, adds body to chutneys and keeps them from turning watery. It is ideal for sandwich spreads or travel food, where you want your chutney to add flavour and not sogginess.
Sure, you could use roasted peanuts for a similar effect. But that means roasting, cooling and then blending, not to mention the extra fat and calories. Roasted gram, in comparison, is low in fat, high in fibre and needs no prep, making it a favourite of every lazy cook and calorie-watcher.
The Indian pantry is full of such shape-shifters—one basic ingredient that can take on many avatars. Take black chana, the heartier cousin of kabuli chana. Leave it whole and you’ve got a base for curries, chaat or sundal. Split and skinned, it becomes chana dal, ready to enrich dals or podi. Roast that, and you get roasted gram. Grind that into a fine powder and it becomes sattu, the protein-packed cooling drink beloved in north India. Even the roasted chana sold as a snack comes in different forms, sometimes with skin, sometimes without. It’s a beautiful journey of transformation (or food processing)—one humble legume, many functional forms.
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If you’ve stocked up on roasted gram, you can find some amazing uses for this versatile ingredient.
Instant green chutney: Blend a handful of coriander, mint, one green chilli, a slice of ginger, two cloves of garlic, 4 tbsp of roasted gram, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, and a little water. It’s sandwich or wrap-ready and travels well.
Desi hummus: Blend a cup or so of roasted gram with garlic, lemon juice and a spoon of tahini (or sesame seeds) along with a splash of water. Season with cumin and salt. Top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. It’s not authentic, but it’s creamy and tasty, and comes together in 3 minutes, giving you an instant dip for your veggies or crackers.
Fortified buttermilk: Blend some roasted gram to get a fine powder (like sattu). Add 1 tbsp of this powder to a glass of buttermilk, with a pinch of black salt, cumin powder, chopped coriander and a squeeze of lemon. Chill and drink. It’s cooling, filling and excellent for hot days.
Subzi booster: Keep a jar of coarsely powdered roasted gram in your pantry. Add 1-2 tbsp of this powder as a finishing touch to dry subzis like capsicum, gourds, okra, beans, etc., to give a boost of fibre, protein as well as a nutty flavour.
One of my favourite no-coconut chutneys is the Madurai thanni chutney (thanni means water in Tamil), a thin, soupy chutney made with roasted gram and aromatics that soak into soft idlis like a dream. For street vendors, this chutney is a saviour: coconut spoils fast in hot weather, but roasted gram stays good all day long—no refrigeration needed.
Then there’s the meal-prep-friendly chutney premix, a dry powder you can rehydrate in under a minute. Stir in water and you’ve got an instant sidekick to your dosa or upma.
MADURAI THANNI CHUTNEY
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tsp oil
2 medium onions, sliced
3-4 green chillies, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
Half cup roasted gram
1 tsp salt
1 small piece of tamarind
1 to one-and-a-half cups water
For the tempering
2 tsp oil
1 dried red chilli, broken into bits
Half tsp black mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
Method
In a pan, heat 2 tsp oil. Fry the sliced onion, garlic and green chillies for 4-5 minutes on a medium flame, until the onions are soft. Allow to cool. Transfer to a blender jar along with roasted gram, salt, tamarind and quarter cup water. Blend to get a smooth paste.
Add the remaining water (using up to 1 and a quarter cups for a soupy consistency) and blend again. Pour this into a bowl.
Heat oil in the same pan. Add the dried red chilies, mustard seeds and the curry leaves. As soon as the mustard seeds pop, transfer the tempering over the chutney. Place freshly steamed idlis in a deep dish and pour a couple of ladles of the chutney over it.
INSTANT CHUTNEY PRE-MIX
Makes around 250g
Ingredients
1 cup roasted gram
2-3 tbsp roasted peanuts
1 tsp oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp white sesame seeds
4 dried red chillies
2 sprigs curry leaves
2 tsp coriander seeds
Half tsp asafoetida
1-2 small pieces of tamarind
One and a half to 2 tsp salt
Method
In a pan, dry-roast the roasted gram and peanuts for 2-3 minutes. Keep aside. Heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add sesame seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves, coriander seeds, asafoetida and tamarind. Crisp up on a low flame for 5-6 minutes. Remove to a plate and allow to cool. Blend all these ingredients along with salt to a fine powder in a blender jar.
To prepare the chutney, mix 3-4 tbsp of the powder and required quantity of water. If required add a tempering of mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves in a little oil to top the chutney.
Also read: From salads to risotto, how to make barley fun
Double Tested is a fortnightly column on vegetarian cooking, highlighting a single ingredient prepared two ways. Nandita Iyer’s latest book is The Great Indian Thali. She posts @saffrontrail on Instagram and X.
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