Development of Gluten-Free Food Products Incorporated by Germinated and Popped Finger and Pearl Millets

Recently, celiac disease is a prominent syndrome in developing countries and there is a growing demand for gluten-free foods. Availability of millets is easy and provides many opportunities for developing gluten-free foods. In this study food processing such as germination and popping were carried out to improve nutrients in millets and gluten-free food products were developed incorporating them at 10, 20 and 30%. Germinated Finger Millet Flour (GFMF) had ash (2.7 g/100g), fat (2.0 g/100g), crude fiber (4.5 g/100g), protein (8.7 g/100g), carbohydrate (69.2 g/100g), calcium (359.6 mg/100g) and iron (4.5 mg/100g). Popped pearl millet flour (PPMF) contained ash (2.2 g/100g), fat (5.9 g/100g), crude fiber (2.8 g/100g), protein (14.4 g/100g), carbohydrate (64.7 g/100g), calcium (51.2 mg/100g) and iron (8.9 mg/100g). Popping also enhanced ash, protein, carbohydrate, iron and phosphorus content in millets. Two products named fortified sweet pancake and millet dense halwa were prepared by incorporating GFMF and GPMF. Choco phirni and fritter snacks were developed by incorporating PFMF and PPMF. Sensory scores of the products revealed that 10% incorporation of all developed food products were best accepted. Thus incorporation of processed finger and pearl millets in developed food products helped in improving the nutrient contents and thus is a good alternative for celiac patients.