Development and quality evaluation of hypoallergic complementary foods from rice incorporated with sprouted green gram flour

Rice flour and green gram flour (sprouted as well as unsprouted) were blended in different proportions with apple pulp, sugar, milk and water for formulation of 12 hypoallergic diets. The formulations were studied for physico-chemical properties, antinutrient content (phytate and oxalate) and in vitro protein digestibility. Blending and sprouting significantly affected all the studied parameters. Sprouting significantly (p ≤ 0.05) improved protein content and in vitro protein digestibility, while carbohydrate content and antinutrients decreased significantly. Nutrition profile of water-based diets met RDA guidelines only after addition of sprouted green gram flour and were comparable to control (commercial weaning food). Water-based formulation showed lower sensory score than milk-based diets; however, addition of sprouted green gram flour significantly (p ≤ 0.05) improved their overall acceptability. It could be concluded that by incorporating sprouted green gram flour, milk could be replaced with water for production of hypoallergic weaning foods without affecting the nutritional and sensory attributes of formulations and thereby making the production more economical, especially for underdeveloped countries. Subjects: Bioscience; Environment & Agriculture; Food Science & Technology