Fermenting Chickpea Flour?

Hi all,

I am fairly new to fermentation. For some time now, I have been making savory chickpea flour pancakes for breakfast (similar to indian chilla, pudla, or european socca or farinata). I normally stir the chickpea flour with water and soak overnight and then mix in vegetables and make pancakes in the morning. It does not ferment.

After reading more about fermentation, I opened up a probiotic pill, mixed it in, and set it the batter in the oven for 24 hours with the oven light on. It rises slightly, develops modest bubbles, but it is not foamy, as I have read that dosa batter should be. The result is very sour and delicious. We're now eating this once or twice daily, with some green onions and salt added and then topped with veggies and/or sauerkraut. However, I can't find ANY recipes online for a similar process, and I am a little hesitant to begin feeding this to my family constantly without the approval of someone with more experience! I have no experience with sourdough. Indians ferment many batters, but I can't find a recipe for a fermented chickpea batter except for a spontaneously fermented greek bread.

Have any of you made something similar? Should I just go with the, "looks okay and tastes okay, it must be okay" approach and let this be a staple in our diet?

Thanks for your input!

After reading the books of Sandor Katz, i have the impression that lactofermentation improves everything :). But seriously: I can not think of any evil that can come from one day of lactofermentation. If it does not smell rotten and tastes good, it is probably better for you than before.

I know I'm late to this post but, on infrequent occasions i make various meals from fermented chickpea flour: flatbreads, steamed cake or socca/farinata. What i do is similar to making a sourdough bread starter - i first grab a small bowl, add the flour and break any clumps, then i add water a bit at a time until i have a smooth but not too viscous consistency, ignoring the smaller clumps as the water and bacteria will eat through them, (optional: i cover this bowl with a plate to keep any insects away), then i transfer the bowl to the oven without the light on or a kitchen cabinet, and in 2 or 3 days this starter will ferment, expand and rise significantly. Now you take a larger bowl to make the main batch, adding however much flour you need (and salt and spices if preferred), breaking the large clumps adding some water and then the starter, mixing those together roughly and adding the necessary remaining water once you have smooth batter. This batter should form visible bubbles, expand and rise overnight with a foamy inner mass. You can then whisk this batter for a few minutes and cook with it however you please.

Sansenai, any chance you could take and post some pictures of your next batch? I have difficulty imagining the texture.

Sure, i will do so some time next week; from starter to batch to cooked product.

Hi, i am back with the result: steamed fermented chickpea flour cake. The cake held together very well and had the texture of a cake but much denser and drier. I thought i should clarify that when you go to make the main batch batter, you can add the starter first, the water to dilute it and then the flour and remaining water.

it's essentially a dhokla you made!
https://nishkitchen.com/besan-dhokla-gram-flour-cake-video/
i love dhoklas. sometimes i ferment and sometimes i use rice or other flours, but it's good stuff (and also, protein!)

Sansenai Owan wrote:Hi, i am back with the result: steamed fermented chickpea flour cake.

Thank you for the pictures.

Tereza Okava wrote:it's essentially a dhokla you made!
https://nishkitchen.com/besan-dhokla-gram-flour-cake-video/
i love dhoklas. sometimes i ferment and sometimes i use rice or other flours, but it's good stuff (and also, protein!)

I see, i didn't realize that! I looked at the traditional recipes for making steamed dhoklas and i noticed there was the addition of leavening agents like citric acid or baking soda, but the lactic acid bacteria that fermented my dhokla eliminated the need for any of the two!

You didn't add anything except water for fermenting?

for fermenting in the traditonal indian way, soak 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds for a couple of hours, they absorb air borne yeast, Grind it up to a paste & then add to your chickpea batter. keep overnight in a warm place, top of fridge, or instant pot in yogurt setting. your dough will rise beautifully without any other help..and get the probiotic benefits to gut too!

I want to try this!,

How do you steam it? What type of steamer?

Thank you for the information

I'm just getting into sourdough cooking - steaming is a less frequent method for me, but this really looks like it is worth a try!
Topped with a spicy sauce this looks great! I found a simple video for those that prefer the visual:



She just uses a bit of yoghurt to help the fermentationn get started, but also give some suggestions for traditional spices.