Recently, in a trip to my local Asian food market, I picked up a bag of Jawar Flour (Laxmi brand). I had no idea what it was, but I did know that an assortment of bean flours are used in Indian cooking. And, it was only $1.99 for a 2 lb bag, so it was worth an experiment. The ingredients say “jawar beans.”
Yesterday, I decided to Google jawar flour to see what it was, and how I could use it. Well, much to my amazement, I found many sources that proclaim that jawar flour is sorghum flour!!! Now, sorghum is a grain, not a “bean,” so there’s still a little skepticism in me, but maybe it’s just a translation issue.
I also found that it is more commonly spelled “jowar.” I also found it as “juvar.”
sorghum flour = jowar flour = jowari flour = juwar flour = cholam flour Notes: This is widely used in India and Africa, especially by poor farmers who can’t afford wheat flour. It’s somewhat bland but very nutritious and gluten-free. You can sometimes find it in health foods stores, but you can get it for less in an Indian market.
This really makes me happy, because I use a lot of sorghum flour, Bob’s Red Mill brand, at $3.45 a pop for a 24 oz bag. Buying it at the Asian market is going to save me 50%!! Woo-hoo!
I tried making some flatbread with it last night (mixed with white rice flour and masa), and while it was tasty, it wasn’t very “bready” and didn’t hold together very well. I still need to experiment with that. In the meantime, I found a very simple, well-written, nicely illustrated “recipe” for making flatbread from just the sorghum/jowar flour and water. I’m going to try it. Here’s another recipe that sounds really good, though I had to chuckle at anything deep fried that’s called “very healthy.”
I seem to have a hard time finding it online for purchase… but it could be, again, a translation issue. I found it here for $2.99 for 2 lbs. You might be better off hitting the Indian aisle of your local Asian grocery, if you are in a big enough city to have one.
