While most people opt for regular wheat flour, there are many types of flour that you can utilize in the kitchen. For instance, Jowar flour is a great flour to use instead of wheat flour for certain recipes.
If you have never used Jowar flour before, you may be wondering what Jowar flour is. I did some digging, and this is what I discovered!
What Is Jowar Flour?
Jowar flour is a type of flour created from ground white millet grains. Generally, Jowar flour is used in Indian cuisine to create bread recipes, but Jowar flour can be used to make tarts, unleavened bread, and more. If desired, you can mix Jowar flour with other types of wheat flour to create more baking recipes.
Do you want to learn what Jowar flour is called in English, what Jowar flour tastes like, and if Jowar flour is gluten-free? Keep reading!
What Is Jowar Flour Made Of?
Jowar flour is made from ground small grains of white millet, which is a type of whole grain.
What Is Jowar Flour In English?
Generally, Jowar flour is called sorghum flour in English, but it may also be called white millet flour because that is what Jowar flour is made of.
What Does Jowar Flour Taste Like?
Typically, Jowar flour tastes fairly neutral, but Jowar flour does have a mildly sweet flavor. However, others note that it can taste a bit earthy, so it can depend on where you get your Jowar flour.
Does Jowar Flour Have Gluten?
Jowar flour does not contain flour because Jowar flour is made from millet and not wheat, and millet is considered a naturally gluten-free grain.
What Is Jowar Flour Used For?
Normally, Jowar flour is used to make various Indian bread recipes, which include theplas and bhakri. For these recipes, Jowar flour may be used by itself or combined with wheat flour.
Additionally, Jowar flour can be used to create tarts, unleavened bread, and porridge in China, Eastern Europe, and Europe.
Jowar flour may be used for baking, but Jowar flour needs to be mixed with wheat flour because Jowar flour does not have any gluten, so there will be no rise or structure in your recipe without wheat flour.
However, other ingredients can also be mixed with Jowar flour to make up for the lack of gluten, such as tapioca starch or cornflour, which are gluten-free alternatives to mixing Jowar flour with wheat flour.
Is Jowar Flour Keto-Friendly?
Generally, Jowar flour cannot be keto-friendly because Jowar flour is high in carbohydrates.
While Jowar flour does contain significantly fewer carbohydrates than wheat flour, Jowar flour still contains around 24 grams of carbs per ¼ cup, which can easily go over the allowed carb intake for most keto diets.
Is Jowar Flour The Same As Millet?
Jowar flour can be considered the same as millet because Jowar flour is made from white millet.
However, it is important to note that Jowar flour is specifically ground white millet whereas millet can refer to any type of whole millet.
Is Ragi Flour The Same As Jowar Flour?
Technically, ragi flour is not exactly the same as Jowar flour because ragi flour is made from finger millet while Jowar flour is created from white millet.
Generally, ragi flour and Jowar flour can be used in many similar recipes as both types of flour are often used to create Indian flatbread recipes.
However, it is worth noting that they do not taste the same because Jowar flour is mild and sweet whereas ragi flour has a bitter taste.
Is Barja Flour And Jowar Flour The Same?
Barja flour and Jowar flour are not precisely the same since Jowar flour is made from white millet and Barja flour is made from black millet.
Similar to Jowar flour and ragi flour, you can use Barja flour to create Indian flatbread dishes.
What makes Barja flour stand out from Jowar flour is that Barja flour tastes nutty and has a grayish hue.
Is Jowar Flour Better Than Wheat Flour?
Technically, Jowar flour is not better than wheat flour because they have different uses and flavors.
For instance, Jowar flour is excellent for flatbread recipes because Jowar flour does not have gluten, so the flatbread will not rise.
However, wheat flour is more versatile than Jowar flour because you can use wheat flour in almost any recipe that calls for flour.
What Is The Difference Between Corn Flour and Jowar Flour?
Generally, the main difference between corn flour and Jowar flour is their ingredients because corn flour is made from corn while Jowar flour is created from white millet.
While corn flour is easier to use in more recipes than Jowar flour, corn flour is a bit starchier than Jowar flour, which is why corn flour can be used to thicken recipes like stews.
However, cornflour and Jowar flour are both gluten-free flour, but you can get a bit of rising and texture from corn flour whereas Jowar flour will not rise at all.
What Can I Substitute For Jowar Flour?
If you are making an Indian unleavened bread recipe, you can swap Jowar flour for any other type of millet flour, such as ragi flour or Barja flour.
However, it is important to note that Barja flour and ragi flour taste different, so you may not get the mild flavor that Jowar flour provides.
If you are making a baking recipe and do not mind consuming gluten, regular wheat flour can be a fine substitute for Jowar flour.
Take a look at our other articles to find out what Japanese bread flour is, what heat-treated flour is, and what Hong Kong flour is.
Conclusion
Jowar flour is a unique type of flour created from white millet, which makes Jowar flour a mild yet sweet and gluten-free flour.
Normally, Jowar flour is used to create unleavened bread recipes, especially in Indian recipes, but Jowar flour can be mixed with wheat flour, tapioca starch, or cornflour to make various baking recipes.