Development of nutritional rich vermicelli prepared from little millet and defatted soy flour

Women and children are the worst sufferers of various forms of malnutrition because of their increased nutritional needs and low social and economic status. To overcome these problems development of highly nutritious foods based on locally available cheap sources which also taste good is of utmost importance. The rural and tribal population in developing areas depends heavily on cereals and millets for their dietary requirements. Millets are small seeds of annual tropical crops aka “pettit mais” which contains branched chain carbohydrates but low in protein content (6-10%). Traditional practices of processing of millets further results in protein calorie malnutrition. Vermicelli serve as an important food security for people living in disadvantage areas. Vermicelli as a well established traditional food well liked by all age groups. The present study was undertaken to fortify vermicelli with millets and defatted soy flour to improve its nutritive value. Refined wheat flour was incorporated and replaced with little millet (kutki) flour and defatted soy flour. Blends in the ratio of 90:00:10, 70:20:10, 45:45:10, 20:70:10 were evaluated for organoleptic score and defatted soy flour was kept constant. Blends 45:45:10 was superior than those made from control and other blends and recorded highest sensory score 8.00. The nutritive value of selected vermicelli ( blends 45:45:10 )was found to be as follows moisture 7.87%, protein 15.58%, Total carbohydrate 68.53%, crude fat 2.45%, 2.70% ash and 3.40% crude fibre. The developed product can serve to fulfill the protein requirement of the community.