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Probiotic fermented foods are fast being recognized as health foods. Most of such foods are based on dairy products but little research work is available on coarse cereals and millets, which constitute the staple foods in developing countries. This paper aims to determine the effect of germination and fementation on nutrient composition of pearl millet based food blends.

Indigenously developed pearl millet based food blends containing raw and germinated pearl millet flour, whey powder and tomato pulp (2:1:1w/w) were autoclaved, cooled and fermented with 5 percent Lactobacillus acidophilus curd which supplied 10⁶cells/ml to the slurry at 37°C for 12 h. The unfermented blends, after autoclaving, served as controls. The developed food blends were subjected to nutritional evaluation by using the standard methods of analysis. The data were statistically analysed.

Pearl millet based, germinated, autoclaved and fermented, food blend maintained adequate cell viability (8.64 cfu g^‐1) as compared to non‐germinated food blend. Germination and probiotic fermentation caused significant improvement in the contents of thiamine, niacin, total lysine, protein fractions, sugars, soluble dietary fibre and in vitro availability of Ca, Fe and Zn of food blends.

Research is currently aimed at developing probiotic millet based food mixture, which had enhanced nutrient profile. Hence, it can be considered for commercialization after establishing its health/therapeutic implications among the population.

Dairy foods have preferentially been used as the carrier medium for probiotics. This paper explores the possibility of using staple foods as the carrier medium. The consumption of such food mixtures containing viable probiotic bacteria should be enhanced among consumers in term of their role in health maintenance and disease prevention.

Ricebean (RB‐32) contained significantly (p < 0.05) higher amounts of total soluble (5.6g/100g) and non‐reducing sugars (5.0g/100g) than fababean (VH‐82‐1). On the other hand, the contents of starch and reducing sugars were more in fababean (53.2g/100g; 608.7mg/100g) than those in ricebean (50.7g/100g; 547.3mg/100g). The starch digestibility (mg maltose released/g meal) of whole raw seeds and husk of ricebean and fababean was 30.8; 6.3 and 42.1; 6.3, respectively. Due to soaking, sprouting and dehulling, a significant (p < 0.05) improvement occurred in in vitro starch digestibility of both ricebean and fababean. Germination for 24 hours in ricebean and 48 hours in fababean was found to be the best as it could improve the starch digestibility to the extent of 100 to 90 per cent over the control.

Amaranth leaves which are an excellent source of calcium, iron, β‐carotene and protein, grow as a weed during the rainy season in Haryana State. This study aims to incorporate nutrient dense dried amaranth leaves powder in products commonly consumed in Haryana State, India.

Fresh amaranth leaves were dried at 50 ± 5 ^○C. The products like biscuits, mathi, matar and sev commonly consumed in Haryana State, were prepared using 5 per cent dried amaranth leaf powder. Amaranth leaf powder was not added in the products which served as control. The nutrient composition of the prepared products was analysed. The nutrient composition of control and supplemented products was compared.

The supplemented products like biscuit, mathi, matar and sev had significantly higher protein, fat, ash and fibre contents as compared to their control. The total soluble sugar, reducing sugar and non reducing sugar content of supplemented biscuit was significantly higher than control biscuit. The phytic acid and tannin content significantly increased and in vitro protein and starch digestibility significantly decreased in all the supplemented products as compared to their respective controls. Supplemented biscuit had about one and a half times higher Ca and supplemented mathi and matar had double the amount of Ca than their respective controls. The increase in Mg, Fe and Zn content in all the supplemented products was significant.

Amaranth leaves are abundantly available during the rainy season, and can be successfully incorporated in commonly consumed food products without adding any extra cost.

Amaranth leaf powder supplemented products are a very good source of protein, fibre, calcium and iron. Consumption of such value added products may contribute in improving the nutritional status of the population especially the vulnerable section.

Some of the indigenous fermented foods of India seem to be very nutritious but not scientifically proved. Moreover, due to urbanisation and changing food habits and lifestyles, people are abandoning such nutritious recipes. This paper aims to collect such indigenous technical knowledge, standardise it under laboratory conditions and analyse it organoleptically and for various nutrients.

Doli ki roti – an indigenous nutritional fermented bread popular among Indian Punjabis migrated from Pakistan – is a wheat‐based product. Natural fermentation is carried out in an earthen pot called doli in vernacular language. The final product was a stuffed puri‐like preparation (a puri is a fried small fermented wheat bread stuffed with spice‐cooked chickpeas). Its preparation was learned from rural households and standardised under laboratory conditions. The product prepared was improved further to make it rich in micronutrients and protein. It was analysed for proximate nutrients, phytic acid and in vitro digestibility of starch and protein using standard AOAC methods.

The unfermented bread had 632.3 mg phytic acid per 100 g but this reduced significantly to an extent of 5‐18 per cent due to fermentation at 35°C and for both time periods, i.e. 18 h and 24 h. This significant reduction in the phytic acid content culminated in a marked improvement in protein (28‐50 per cent) and starch (57‐88 per cent) digestibility. The higher the temperature and the longer the period of fermentation, the more significant (p<0.05) were the changes seen in the phytic acid content, and a significant and negative correlation between the two further strengthened the findings.

Such a product can be further improved nutritionally by making it rich in beta‐carotene. Instead of frying, it can be baked in the oven for health‐conscious people suffering from hypercholesterolemia.

On the basis of the findings of the present study, people should be encouraged not to abandon healthy eating practices but continue with their traditional healthy food habits. They should be motivated to prepare and eat fermented foods having the right combination of cereals, pulses and leafy vegetables.

This is an original paper based on an original idea. It is based on the research findings of the MSc thesis of the first author, who worked under the guidance of the second author.

This study aims to report on the nutritional profile of preschool children of 4 to 5 years.

The data on raw food intake of the randomly selected subjects were collected by 24hr recall method for three consecutive days and the mean was taken. Daily intake of various nutrients by each subject was calculated using MSU Nutriguide and this was further compared with RDA recommended by ICMR to assess the adequacy of their diets.

The analysis revealed that the intake of protein, fat, calcium, thiamine, folic acid and vitamin B₁₂ was more than or equal to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) as recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research, while the intake of energy, iron, vitamin C, niacin and riboflavin was less than their respective RDAs. The intake of β‐carotene was marginally adequate. Boys consumed significantly more amount of energy and folic acid than girls.

A large number of samples could not be taken owing to practical difficulties.

The study is original and innovative. The findings are useful for the policy makers and nutritionists who have to implement supplementary feeding programmes.

Presoaking treatment of partially defatted soy dhal in water or enzyme (lipase) solution for one, two and four hours decreased the cooking time substantially. When soy dhal was soaked in water for one, two and four hours, it resulted in 0 per cent, 1.24 per cent and 6.17 per cent decrease in cooking time over the unsoaked soy dhals, respectively. Soaking defatted soy dhal in lipase enzyme solution at three different concentrations, i.e. 0.5 per cent, 0.75 per cent and 1.0 per cent reduced the cooking time from 62.96 per cent to 74.69 per cent, over the control (unsoaked soy dhal) depending on the presoaking period. As the soaking period was increased from one to four hours irrespective of the concentration used, decrease in cooking time was observed. Maximum decrease in cooking time was found with soaking in 1 per cent concentration of lipase solution for four hours. There were non‐significant differences between the organoleptic scores of water soaked and enzyme soaked dhal. However, sensory scores of soy dhal were slightly improved by lipase enzyme soaking when compared to water soaked soy dhal.

The unleavened bread called chapatis in vernacular language is the staple food of the majority of North Indians, which is generally prepared from wheat flour. However, wheat flour contains 8‐12 per cent protein and is limited in essential amino acid, so supplementation of partially defatted soy dhal, sorghum, rice, maize and pearl millet will help to improve the nutritional value of chapatis. This paper seeks to address this issue.

Wheat flour was supplemented with salt‐treated partially defatted soy dhal, sorghum, rice, maize and pearl millet (50:10:10:10:10:10). Different salt treatments were given to soy dhal so as to remove its typical beany flavour. Different flours were mixed with water to form dough followed by preparation of chapati on flat iron plates. These were further evaluated organoleptically by the panel of judges. On the basis of organoleptic evaluation the best combination was used for nutritional evaluation.

Organoleptic evaluation of developed chapatis indicated that they were acceptable in terms of various sensory parameters. Nutritional evaluation of unprocessed composite flour, wheat flour chapatis and composite flour chapatis revealed a significant increase in moisture and protein content and non‐significant difference in ash and crude fibre contents of composite flour chapatis when compared with unprocessed composite flour and wheat flour chapatis. Various processing methods, namely dough making and roasting involved in chapati making, significantly (p<0.05) reduced the phytic (11 per cent) and polyphenol (64 per cent) content of the developed chapati compared with unprocessed composite flour. As a result the protein and starch digestibility of the developed chapati was improved over the unprocessed composite flour.

Further research is needed regarding the amino acid profile of the developed chapati.

Wheat flour should be supplemented with different cereals so as to improve the nutritional value.

The paper has significance in terms of improving the nutritional quality of the chapati without any extra input of time and energy.

The purpose of this paper is to address malnourishment in developing countries by a food-based approach in which locally produced and consumed foods are improved by applying food processing techniques that benefit the amount and availability of desirable nutrients.

To facilitate this approach, this paper reports on the composition and in vitro micronutrient accessibility of 14 traditional mung bean foods from India in relation to their preparation methods.

Proximate composition, in vitro mineral accessibility, phytic acid and polyphenol contents varied among the range of products. Products requiring either fermentation or germination, had higher in vitro iron, zinc and calcium accessibility. Average in vitro iron, zinc and calcium accessibility of the mung bean products were 16, 9 and 418 mg kg−1 dry weight. Phytic acid and polyphenols averaged 2.1 and 1.8 g kg−1 dry weight, respectively, and were negatively correlated with in vitro mineral accessibility.

Different mung bean products (100 g) cover 12.0-59.5, 5.2-45.6, 4.2-28.6 and 1.1-7.1 per cent of the recommended dietary allowance for protein, iron, zinc and calcium, respectively, for seven- to nine-year-old Indian children.

This study demonstrated the wide range of traditional mung bean foods in India and presents options to tackle malnourishment by a food-based approach.

Soybean is one of the richest sources of protein. However, its longer cooking time is a major hurdle in its utilization. Keeping this in mind, aims to study the effect of presoaking soybean with salt solutions such as sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate on the cooking time and organoleptic characters of soy dhal.

Soy dhal was obtained by blanching whole soybeans in boiling water for 15 minutes. Soy dhal was soaked in 0.5, 0.75 and 1 per cent solutions of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate for 3, 6 and 9 h. The cooking time of soaked soy dhal was determined by boiling it and testing for softness by pressing between fingers and thumb. The boiled samples were evaluated organoleptically. These were further cooked with spices, followed by sensory evaluation.

The cooking time of untreated soy dhal was 162 min; it reduced significantly by 58‐98 per cent when soaked in salt solutions. The percentage reduction in cooking time was found to be greater when soy dhal was soaked in sodium carbonate solution; however, this adversely affected the colour and flavour. In contrast, soy dhal soaked in sodium bicarbonate was found to be acceptable to the human palate.

Further research is needed regarding effect of presoaking on the nutritional quality of soy dhal.

Soy dhal should be soaked in sodium bicarbonate for at least 6 h to reduce its cooking time considerably.

This study has significance for those people who want to consume soybeans but avoid them because of their prolonged cooking time.

Probiotic fermented foods are fast being recognized as health foods. Most of such developed foods are based on dairy products and much less work is available on cereals/legumes which constitute the staple diet in developing nations. In the present study an attempt has been made to develop a barley‐based probiotic fermented food mixture and report its acceptability and nutritional profile.

Indigenously developed BCGT food mixture containing barley flour, milk coprecipitate, sprouted green gram paste and tomato pulp (2:1:1:1, w/w) was autoclaved (1.5kg/cm², 15min., 121^○C), cooled and fermented with 2 per cent liquid culture (containing 10⁶ cells/ml broth). Two types of fermentations were carried out i.e. single culture fermentation [ L. casei, L. plantarum (37^○C, 24hr.)] and sequential culture fermentation [S. boulardii (25^○C, 24hr.)+L. casei (37^○C, 24hr.); S. boulardii (25^○C, 24hr.)+L. plantarum (37^○C, 24hr.)]. The lyophilized and rehydrated food mixtures were subjected to organoleptic and nutritional evaluation. The data were statistically analysed for analysis of variance in a completely randomized design according to standard methods.

All the fermented and lyophilized food mixtures were found to be organoleptically acceptable to human palate and maintained adequate cell viability. The pH of the fermented products varied from 4.13 to 4.55. They had good nutrient profile with crude protein content ranging from 20.87 to 21.81 per cent.

Since the developed product had good acceptability after one month storage at room temperature, it can be considered for commercialization after establishing its health/therapeutic implications.

Till date dairy foods have preferentially been used as the carrier medium for probiotics. This paper explores the possibility of using staple foods as the carrier medium. The consumption of such food mixtures may be useful in controlling pathogens/antibiotics induced diarrhoea as well as in hypercholesterolemia. To authenticate such claims, the results of trials carried out on mice in our lab shall be reported in future communications.