1. Introduction

Triggered by increasing industrialization, urbanization and the phenomenon of “Working women”, recent years have witnessed a spurt in the growth of the convenience foods market and breath-taking changes have taken place both in terms of quality and quantity (variety) of convenience products available, and the packaging as well as the processing technologies involved [1-2]. Among the minor millets, Foxtail millet has been tried by several workers in the development of various foods, which include bread [3], cakes [4], traditional foods [5-6], weaning foods [7-8], popped, extruded, roller-dried and flaked products [9], noodles [10]. The foxtail millet rice can be used instead of rice in the preparation of all the traditional products like bisibele bath, chakkali, pongal, dosa, idli, and laddus. Thus, besides its traditional use in making chapatti and porridge, millet can be exploited for the development of low GI therapeutic food products like biscuits. The nutritional composition of Foxtail millet per 100 gm is fat (4.3 gm), minerals (3 gm), protein (12.3 gm), calcium (31 mg %), carbohydrate (60.9 gm), phosphorous (290 mg%) and dietary fibre (14 gm). The amino acid profile is balanced and the dietary fiber content is very high compared to other cereals. Further studies are needed to determine long term effects of consumption of foxtail millet biscuits on blood lipid profile and glycosylated haemoglobin of diabetics and cardiovascular patients. Even though the nutritional qualities of millet have been well recorded [11], its utilization for food is confined to the traditional consumers in tribal populations, mainly due to non-availability of consumer-friendly, ready-to-use or ready-to-eat products, as are found for rice and wheat [12]. In recent times, there has been a renewed interest in millets. This study was conducted to incorporate foxtail millet in commonly consumed food recipes.

2. Materials and Methods

Foxtail millets were procured from a supermarket named BALAJI at Basheer bagh, Hyderabad. The raw materials required for the preparation of the products were procured from local markets of abids, Hyderabad.

2.1 Standardization of the recipe

Standardization is the process where a recipe is tested number of times and found a satisfactory quantity and yield. It is a gradual trial process. The standardization procedure was carried out by repeated trials till an acceptable recipe for the preparation of the product was obtained. The amounts were finalized by assessing the appearance, texture and taste of the variations. The finalized products were laddu, panjeri, kheer, cutlet, peanut chutney [5] (Figures 1-5 and Tables 1-5). Amounts of all the ingredients in the formulation of different products,

Table 1: Ingredient and amount used in the development of Kheer.

Table 2: Ingredient and amount used in the development of Peanut Chutney.

Table 3: Ingredient and amount used in the development of Cutlet.

Table 4: Ingredient and amount used in the development of laddu.

Table 5: Ingredient and amount used in the development of Panjeri.

2.2 Method of preparation

Figure 1: Method of preparation of Kheer (basic).

2.2.1 Variations: To the above recipe, soaked, roasted and coarsely grounded foxtail millet was added along with grounded rice flour in variation 1 and 2.

Figure 2: Method of preparation of Peanut Chutney (basic).

2.2.2 Variation: To the above recipe, soaked, roasted and finely grounded foxtail millet was added along with grounded peanuts in variation 1 and 2.

Figure 3: Method of preparation of Cutlet (basic).

2.2.3 Variation: To the above recipe, pressure-cooked and mashed foxtail millet was added along with potatoes in variation 1 and 2.

Figure 4: Method of preparation of Laddu.

2.2.4 Variation: To the above recipe, finely grounded foxtail millet was added along with wheat flour and besan of variation 1 and 2.

Figure 5: Method of preparation of Panjeri (basic).

2.2.5 Variation: To the above recipe, finely grounded and roasted foxtail millet was added along with other dry fruit powders in variation 1 and 2.

2.3 Sensory evaluation of the developed products

The sensory evaluation of the five developed samples (laddu, kheer, panjeri, cutlet, peanut chutney) was carried out by 38 semi-trained panelists for numerical scoring and 51 semi-trained panelists made hedonic evaluation of the samples and were asked to assess the laddu, kheer, panjeri, peanut chutney for overall acceptability based on the appearance, color, taste, flavor and texture.

3. Results and Discussion

It was found that the mean score of kheer for color of variation 2 (8.27 ± 0.85) was greater than variation 1( 8.10 ± 0.03). The flavor of variation 2 (8.02 ± 0.95) was greater than variation 1 (7.82 ± 0.95). The texture of variation 2 (8.06 ± 0.88) was greater than variation 1 (8.20 ± 1.02). The taste of variation 2 (8.02 ± 0.95) was greater than variation 1 (7.86 ± 0.96). The overall acceptability of variation 2 (8.10 ± 0.92) was greater than variation 1 (7.96 ± 0.85). The data was analyzed using analysis of variance ANOVA test and the calculated value is (11.60) which is more than the table value. Hence, there was significant difference observed at 1% and 5% level of significance. The mean score for peanut chutney given by the panelists for color for variation 1 (8.14 ± 0.72) is greater than variation 2 (8.06 ± 0.92). The flavor of variation 1 (7.96 ± 0.75) is greater than variation 2 (7.92 ± 0.91). The texture where variation 1 (8.04 ± 0.80) is greater than variation 2 (7.92 ± 1.06). The taste where variation 1 (8.06 ± 0.79) is greater than variation 2 (7.82 ± 0.93). The overall acceptability for variation 1 (8.10 ± 0.76) is greater than variation 2 (7.94 ± 0.95). The data was analyzed using analysis of variance ANOVA test and the calculated value is (0.014) which is less than the table value. Hence, there was no significant difference observed at 1% and 5% level of significance.

The mean score of laddu given by the panelists for color where variation 2 (8.63 ± 0.63) is greater than variation 1 (8.41 ± 0.64). The flavor of variation 2 (8.63 ± 0.60) was greater than variation 1 (8.27 ± 0.78). The texture of variation 2 (8.59 ± 0.73) was greater than variation 1 (8.33 ± 0.71). The taste of variation 2 (8.65 ± 0.63) was greater than variation 1 (8.31 ± 0.79). The overall acceptability of variation 2 (8.75 ± 0.52) was greater than variation 1 (8.33 ± 0.65). The data was analyzed using analysis of variance ANOVA test and the calculated value is (10.9) which is more than the table value. Hence, there was significant difference observed at 1% and 5% level of significance. The mean score of panjeri given by the panelists for color of variation 2 (8.47 ± 0.83) was greater than variation 1 (8.33 ± 0.79). The flavor of variation 2 (8.22 ± 0.90) was greater than variation 1 (8.04 ± 1.00). The texture of variation 2 (8.35 ± 0.89) was greater than variation 1 (8.20 ± 0.87). The taste of variation 2 (8.33 ± 0.86) was greater than variation 1 (8.08 ± 1.00). The overall acceptability of variation 2 (8.37 ± 0.85) was greater than variation 1 (8.16 ± 0.83). The data was analyzed using analysis of variance ANOVA test and the calculated value is (0.03) which is less than the table value. Hence, there was no significant difference observed at 1% and 5% level of significance.

4. Conclusion

It was concluded that all the products that were developed were calculated for energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, iron and calcium. Consumption of these nutrient dense products will not only improve the nutritional status of the population, but also sustain the production of minor millets, which are on the extinct, ultimately leading to a more holistic approach in sustaining precious agro bio-diversity. It’s promising nutritional facts gives warranty for further studies to increase the dietary use of these food products. Hence, a bright future is envisaged for use of Foxtail millet in convenience foods, particularly traditional convenience mixes to meet the challenges of the modern dynamic food industry.

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