FORMULATION OF PORRIDGE FROM GERMINATED BARLEY (Hordeum vulgare), PADDY (Oryza sativa) & GREEN GRAM (Vigna radiata) AND ITS NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION

Abstract

Porridge is a convenient food not just for weaning infants, but also for the elderly and convalescents due to its easy digestibility. Protein energy malnutrition is still a major problem in all the segments of population. Sixteen products were formulated varying the proportion of cereals and pulses using design expert software. The grains selected were cleaned, washed, soaked, germinated, dried, roasted and then stored in air tight containers. The roasted grains where then mixed homogenously according to the required proportion and then milled. The milled grains where then sieved and the grits obtained were kept in separate air tight containers. Green gram was germinated for several days and tannin and phytic acid content was checked each day. It was found that tannin and phytic acid content was reduced in the germinated sample when compared to the raw sample. The tannin and phytic acid content of green gram were reduced by 35.45% and 33.71% after 72 hours of germination respectively. From the sensory evaluation and statistical analysis of the sixteen products, the formulation containing 30 g of barley, 20 g of rice and 50 g of green gram was found to be the best. The protein, fat, carbohydrate, crude fiber, and total ash of the product were found to be 27.8%, 2.5%, 64.29%, 3.3% and 2.2% respectively. The food can supply 390.86 kcal/100 g. The iron and calcium content of the product were found to be 3.7 mg/100 g and 83.8 mg/100 g respectively. The total cost for the preparation was calculated as NRs. 125 per kg. Hence, the prepared porridge is nutritious and cost effective weaning food and germination was considered as one of the effective method for reduction of antinutritional factors