Idli is a traditional fermented food and is consumed in India and Srilanka. The objective of the present study is to select the ingredients for optimum desirable product characteristics and to identify the optimum ratios of ingredients and fermentation time with respect to sensory attributes using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The sensory attributes included were color, appearance, texture, taste and overall quality. Preliminary trials were conducted using five variants of rice and common black gram dhal before framing a model using Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD). From the study it was found that a desirable score of 0.7439 was obtained for sensory attributes of idli made with the ratio of 3: 1.475 for IR20 idli rice and ADT3 variety black gram (with husk removed after soaking) fermented for 10.2 h. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) helped to discriminate the samples and attributes within the data matrix, depending upon their inter relationships.

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Palmyrah young shoot is an underutilized seasonal product of palmyrah palm. It has been reported to improve digestibility, prevent constipation, and maintain blood sugar level, as it is rich in fiber and starch. However, it contains some bitter compounds, which limits their acceptability of the products developed from them. Present study identified the components responsible for bitterness and the debittering process has been optimized. The optimum conditions for debittering included solvent ratio of 90 ml, extraction temperature at 65°C and 1 hr of processing time which led to significant decrease in the bitter compounds namely spirosterol and the flabelliferin‐ II (F‐II). Moreover, the optimized condition led to decrease in the total phenolic and saponin content from 320 to 131.651 mg/g and 2.04 to 0.106 mg/g, and simultaneously favored the yield of the fiber and starch from 4.1 to 11.889 g and 43.65 to 85.349 g, respectively. The debittered flour was incorporated into traditional Indian sweet (gulabjamun) which improved the protein content by 28.855%, and fiber content by 4.01% than commercial sample. The current study also increased the line scale of commercialization of the underutilized palmyrah young shoot as well as its scope for potential use as a fortificant or thickening agent. Practical applications Palmyarh young shoot is rich in fiber and recommended for diabetics, however the crop is under‐utilized due to its bitter taste. We have now optimized conditions for obtaining debittered flour. This debittered flour has high potential in food processing industry as a fortificant, as a thickening agent and as a good source of starch and fiber. Debittering could be pivotal to increase the utilization of Palmyarh young shoot flour in foods.

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