Abstract

Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) is one of the inexpensive sources of protein, calcium and iron. Simple processing methods such as soaking and roasting were tested to reduce the anti-nutritional factors. A sample of horse gram was washed, soaked in sufficient water for 12 h with periodical change of water at 4 h interval. Later, the sample was dried in hot air oven at 60oC for 2 h and powdered. In a separate processing method the horse gram sample was roasted for 10 min on low flame, cooled and powdered. Anti-nutritional factors such as tannins and phytates were found to be reduced on processing, while nutrients namely, protein, calcium, iron and phosphorus did not show significant changes when compared to raw horse gram. Further, wheat based common food product like chappathi was incorporated with the processed horse gram flour to improve the nutrient content. The sensory evaluation revealed that the chappathies prepared with wheat flour + 10 per cent soaked, dried and roasted horse gram powder or wheat flour + 15 per cent of roasted horse gram flour had received highly acceptable score.

Keywords: Anti-nutritional factors, Soaking and drying, Roasting, Nutritional characteristics, Sensory quality.