Vol. 8, Special Issue 5 (2023)

Author(s): Sangma TA and Dr. Dubey PR

Abstract: Composite flour may be defined as a combination of varying proportions of more than one type of non-wheat flours with wheat flour so as to improve the nutritional profile of regular wheat flour. This study was undertaken with the aim to develop a composite flour blend comprising of whole wheat flour, foxtail millet flour and cassava flour to prepare an Indian snack named “halwa”; to evaluate the sensory properties of the developed product; to assess the nutritional composition; and to calculate the cost of developing the product. A total of four treatments with different proportions of the flours were produced, where T₀ served as control and the treatments as T₁, T₂ and T₃, which were replicated three times. The sensory evaluation based on “9-point Hedonic Scale” showed that T₃ has the highest acceptability in terms of colour, texture, taste and overall acceptability. Nutritional composition of the product was estimated based on the nutritive values of ingredients per 100g. The results showed that T₃ had higher nutritional value in terms of energy (395.44 kcal); carbohydrate (59.86 g); dietary fibre (4.32 g); and calcium (18.8 mg) as compared to the control T₀. The incurred expenditure for the production of halwa for each treatment was Rs. 12.81 (T₀); Rs. 14.29 (T₁); Rs. 15.04 (T₂); and Rs. 15.89 (T₃). Thus, it can be stated that the use of composite flour for the development of the snack had considerable influences on its nutritional profile.