Nutritious formulation

THE AVINASALINGAM EDUCATIONAL TRUST, Coimbatore, under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, has formulated a nutritious food preparation. It was developed with these objectives in mind: It should be nutritious, pre-cooked, ready to eat, easy to digest, palatable and reasonably priced.

During the process, several cereal and pulse mixes were analysed. A mixture of wheat (Triticum vulgarae), roasted Bengalgram (Cicer arietinum), roasted groundnut (Aracis hypogaea), defatted soya flour (Glycine max) and powdered jaggery was selected. It was called "Amirtham".

Composition (per 100 g):

Wheat 37.5 g Bengal gram (roasted) 18.8 Groundnut (roasted) 12.5 Defatted soya flour 6.2 Jaggery (powdered) 25

Preparation: The wheat, Bengal gram and groundnut are cleaned and roasted over a medium flame. Roasting is done to reduce the level of anti-nutritional factors. Roasted soya flour and powdered jaggery are added and pulverised to a fine powder.

Nutrient content (per 100 g):

"Amirtham" is rich in protein and calories. Calorific value 391 K.cal Protein 16.14 Fat 5.44 Carbohydrates 69.37 Calcium 191.23 mg Iron 8.9 mg Carotene 71.6 ug Thiamine 0.3 mg Riboflavin 0.1 mg Niacin 5.3 mg Crude fibre 1.05 Moisture 5.78

The preparation is a low cost food, rich in protein and calories. It costs Rs. 35 per kg. A 100 g of flour can provide a child with one-third of its daily requirement of protein.

Recipes:

As the preparation is made of precooked flour, it can be had without further processing.

For children from seven to 12 months, it can be made into a porridge. Adding milk improves nutritional value. For others, it can be made into traditional food such as laddu, pittu (steamed flour) and Kozhukattai (steamed cake).

Sugar free "Amirtham":

A preparation that is sugar free is available for diabetics.

Ingredients (per 100 g)

Wheat 50 Bengal gram (roasted) 25 Groundnut (roasted) 16.7 Defatted soya flour 8.3 Preparation is the same as for sweet "Amirtham". Its nutritional value (per 100 g): Calorific value 390 K.cal Protein 20.2 Fat 8.9 Calcium 49.8 Iron 5.9 Carotene 77 ug Thiamine 0.34 mg Riboflavin 0.11 Niacin 6.8 mg Fibre 1.6

The sugar free preparation can be used in several traditional recipes to produce kanji (gruel) with water or buttermilk, kara pittu, adai, dosai, vegetable cutlet, bajji, bonda, uppuma, biscuits and soup.

DR. RAJAMMAL P. DEVADAS

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Previous : Dilemma of vein graft disease
Next     : Pain in the neck?