Milling Quality of Raw and Parboiled Kodo (Paspalum scorbiculatum L.) by Various Hand Grinders

Kodo, a neglected but useful grain, holds promise for future food security. Kodo is nutritionally comparable with other cereals and in some respect superior to rice and wheat. In India, it is mainly consumed by tribal people, who dehusk it by hand pounding. In the present investigation milling quality of raw as well as parboiled Kodo were determined. The Kodo grains were parboiled by soaking grain at 50oC for 3 h, then steamed for 15 min. followed by shed drying for 24 h. Kodo millet was dehusked using hand grinders to assess the maximum possible value of milling parameters. Three types of hand grinders namely dried mud, Plaster of Paris (POP) and cement were used. In the preliminary experiment POP hand grinders was found totally unsuitable for milling of Kodo because grains were severely damaged and mixing of POP powder. Raw and parboiled Kodo grains were dehusked on dried mud and cement hand grinders in two passes. With dried mud grinder head yield and milling efficiency of raw Kodo samples were found 84.8 per cent and 70.07 per cent while parboiled Kodo sample had shown 98.79 per cent and 96.03 per cent. Similarly with cement grinder head yield and milling efficiency of raw Kodo samples were found 13.72 per cent and 41.45 per cent while parboiled Kodo sample had shown 84.14 per cent and 84.0 per cent.