Enhancement of nutritional value of finger millet-based food (Indian dosa) by co-fermentation with horse gram flour.

摘要

Co-fermentation of finger millet with horse gram was carried out to produce the inexpensive protein-rich food dosa (dosai; an Indian breakfast food). Natural fermentation of finger millet-horse gram flour blend in different proportions (2:1, 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1) was performed for 24 h. Biochemical analysis showed a reasonable drop in pH (6.6 to 4.2) and starch content (25.52%) with considerable augmentation in titratable acidity (0.168 to 1.046%), soluble proteins (1.1-fold) and free amino acids (2.6-fold) at 16 h. Lactic acid bacteria dominated yeast counts throughout the fermentation, which was accompanied by a decrease in total soluble and reducing sugars. Total essential amino acids increased 1.1-fold at 16-h fermentation, with essential amino acids accounting for 48.68% of total amino acids in proteins. Lysine increased from 5.87 to 6.73 g of amino acid/100 g of total amino acids. Dosa prepared from 16-h fermented batter showed better sensory attributes at the 4:1 ratio. The formulated new product may be used to overcome protein-energy malnutrition problems.