Development of Barnyard Millet Based Products, their Acceptability and Nutritional Composition

Abstract

Barnyard millet is one of the hardest millet. The grains can be used as food and can be cooked similar to rice. The carbohydrate content is low and slowly digestible. This property makes the barnyard millet a natural designer food. The objective of the present investigation was to develop barnyard millet based products and to determine their nutrient composition. A total of seven products using barnyard millet, viz., fruit cake, paddu, instant dosa, puliyogare, gulab jamun, nutri bar and maddurvada were developed. Three of the above products were analysed for nutritional composition, while for remaining the nutritional value was computed for developing a nutrient database. All the prepared products were subjected to sensory analysis by 30 untrained panel members for evaluating the acceptability. Sensory analysis of all millet incorporated products showed that they were acceptable in comparison to control products prepared with traditional cereals. Nutritional composition of millet-based products was similar to control products for macronutrients and showed a higher content of micronutrients. Maddurvada was a baked product with a lesser fat content than the commercial fried product. Puliyogare prepared using only millet was found to be highly acceptable and was nutritionally superior. The sensory parameter of instant dosa prepared with millet was also acceptable. The study showed that preparation of various traditional products using barnyard millet did not affect the sensory parameters; hence, its use can be promoted for health benefits.