Kuttu atta

Kuttu atta is a gluten-free flour milled from the triangular achenes of common buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum, a pseudocereal in the knotweed family Polygonaceae.

In Kannada, buckwheat is traditionally called Kadu godhi.

Expect an earthy, rustic taste with mild mineral notes and a faint astringency. It has a distinct nutty edge that intensifies during roasting or shallow frying, and turns deeply fragrant when toasted or fried in ghee.

For Navratri fasting, knead kuttu ka atta with mashed boiled potatoes or colocasia to roll kuttu ki puri or kuttu ke parathe. Mix the flour into the dough before you griddle or fry.

Whisk it with spices into a batter and coat sliced potatoes, plantains or paneer for crisp, vrat-friendly pakodas.

Make kuttu ka cheela by blending the flour with water, rock salt and green chillies, then cook it thin on a flat tawa. You’ll smell the nutty aroma as it cooks.

Buckwheat is native to southwestern China and the high-elevation Himalayan foothills, and has been cultivated for several millennia. In India it is actively grown across the Himalayan belt, including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Buckwheat flour is completely gluten-free, dense in complex dietary fiber, and notable for its high lysine and tryptophan protein content along with minerals like magnesium and phosphorus.