Value Addition of Horse gram through Extrusion Processing
By Nayansingh J. Thakor*and Abhiman A. Sawant | 31-08-2021 | Page: 139-144
Abstract
Pulses are an important source of dietary protein for many people in developing and under developed countries. Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) is an underutilized pulse crop grown in wide range of adverse climatic conditions. Horse gram has a very sound balance of nutrition with rich in protein, fibre, calcium, phosphorus and iron and has a good dietary fibre and makes sound nutrition balance. Medical research revealed that raw, unprocessed horse gram seeds have the ability to lower blood sugar spikes post meal by slowing down gastric emptying time and reducing insulin resistance, and making it a diabetic-friendly food. Extrusion technology which is cooking less and oil less technology provides value added Ready-To-Eat (RTE) food products. This techniques was explored for the processing of horse gram using a co-rotating twin screw extruder. Levels of horse gram flour were varied from 20 to 40%. Levels of maize flour were kept constant at 50% and formulation was compensated by rice flour levels to make the 100 per cent. Functional properties of the extrudate samples were decided using the expansion ratio, bulk density, hardness and colour index. Expansion ratio (ER) for the treatment formulations varied from 2.09 to 2.84. Bulk density varied in the range from 0.56 to 0.66 g/cc. It was low in case of higher percentage (40%) of horse gram and increased for decrease in the percentage of horse gram in the formulation. Hardness of extrudate samples for the given three treatments varied between 46.17 to 26.15 N. Lower hardness is desired in the extrudates so as to make the product crispy and easy to bite. Formulation with 20 per cent of horse gram gave the lower hardness of 26.15 N. The values of colour in terms of lightness varied between 28.07 t0 33.34; Redness values varied in between 3.55 and 3.43; and values of yellowness varied in the range of 11.48 to 13.04 for the given three treatments. Extrudates using 20% horse gram, 30% rice and 50% maize meets all the functional properties of the extrudates.