Pulses are a rich source of protein and minerals particularly for the vegetarian and vegan population. However, several anti-nutritional compounds, such as trypsin inhibitor, phenolic compounds, phytates, cyanogenic compounds, lectins and saponins are also found in the legumes. Most of the anti-nutritional compounds of the pulses are present in the seed coat. Most of these compounds are sensitive to heat and can be substantially reduced by milling, cooking, germination, fermentation and heat processing. This review paper summarizes anti-nutritional compounds present in different pulses including their fractions, significance and beneficial and adverse effect on human health. The aim of this paper is to enlighten the readers about the anti-nutritional compounds present in the pulses and possible processing methods to enhance utilization of pulses.

Food products containing probiotics and prebiotics are an important development in Health foods, which enhance health promoting microbial flora in the intestine. Probiotic refers to viable microorganism that promotes or support a beneficial balance of the autochthonous microbial population of the gastrointestinal tract. A number of genera of bacteria (and yeast) are used as probiotics, including Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, Bifidobacterium, Saccharomyces, and Enterococcus, but the main species believed to have probiotic characteristics are Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium spp., and L. casei. Probiotics can reduce diarrheal incidence, lactose intolerance, lower serum cholesterol, stimulate the immune system, control infections, act as antibiotics, suppress tumors, and protect against colon or bladder cancer by maintaining a healthy intestinal microflora balance. Lactic acid bacteria produce biopreservatives such as lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocins that are used to retard both spoilage and the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Food, particularly dairy products are considered as an ideal vehicle for delivering probiotic bacteria to the human gastrointestinal tract. Cereals being rich source of prebiotics such as β-glucan and arabinoxylan, galacto-, and fructooligosaccharides are considered for development of probiotic foods. Good manufacturing practices must be applied in the manufacture of probiotic foods with quality assurance, and shelf-life conditions established.

Gluten free biscuits, also suitable during fasting were developed utilizing different levels of fruits (water chestnut and makhana) and starchy vegetable (potato) powders. Biscuits were developed using creamery method and evaluated for physical properties, proximate composition, sensory characteristics and storability for 90 days at room temperature. Expansion in diameter of biscuits with different level of potato and makhana powder varied between 1.026 to 1.059 and 1.046 to 1.059, respectively as compared to 1.075 for biscuits prepared using water chestnut only. Breaking hardness and toughness of different biscuit was increased with increasing level of potato or makhana powder in flour blends and higher in potato powder incorporated biscuits. Whiteness (L values) of biscuits was decreased with increasing level of potato powder while a reverse trend was observed in case of makhana powder incorporated biscuits. Protein content in biscuits with makhana powder was higher than the biscuits prepared using potato powder in flour blends. Biscuits prepared using hundred percent water chestnut showed the maximum crude fibre content in them. Results indicated that gluten free biscuits for fasting people can be prepared using potato powder or makhana powder up to 50 % with water chestnut powder. The overall sensory acceptability of biscuits with makhana powder was better than for biscuits with potato powder with maximum overall acceptability scores for biscuits developed using 70:30 parts of water chestnut and makhana powders in flour blend, which were storable for 90 days period at room temperature.

Makhana (Euryale ferox) seed, commonly known as gorgon nut or fox nut, is an aquatic crop cultivated in stagnant water bodies like ponds, land depressions, lakes, swamps, and ditches. It belongs to water lily family, Nymphaeaceae, which has cultivation history exceeding more than 2000 years in Asia. This black seed is round in shape with a diameter ranging from 4.5 to 14.5 mm and having hard shell as an outer most structure (Jha & Prasad, 1993). The edible part of the seed is the starchy kernel, which cannot be separated easily from its hard shell. Therefore, the raw makhana seeds are generally processed (popping) to obtain popped makhana for edible use. The consumption of popped makhana has been increased worldwide in the past few years due to its health benefits, lightness, and crispiness (APEDA, 2017). Popped makhana is highly nutritious due to its negligible fat content, high quality protein, and presence of various health promoting bioactive compounds. The high amino acid index (89%-93%) and better arginine + lysine/proline ratio (4.7-7.6) make it superior in comparison to other cereals for achieving the amino acid requirements of the human body (Jha, Barat, & Jha, 1991). The popping is done by initial roasting (270-280°C), tempering (48 hr), final roasting (260-270°C) and breaking of the hard shell for expansion of seed in hot condition (Jha & Prasad, 1996). In the initial roasting of raw seeds, the gelatinization, and retrogradation of starch molecules take place. The initial roasting brings characteristic changes and results in expansion of kernels (popping) during the second roasting. Popping process of makhana seeds is entirely different from rice and cocoa beans. The hull of paddy is removed after parboiling and then puffing is done through roasting (Mir, Bosco, Shah, & Mir, 2016). In cocoa beans, roasting and puffing is done in a single operation (Hu

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This paper analyses the determinants of household electricity consumption with the focus to find the impact of government subsidies and surcharges on the demand for electricity services in the rural areas. Using surveyed household data of 332 samples, quantile regression has been employed for checking heterogeneity in electricity demand across different quantile of households. We find government subsidy has enhanced the household demand for electricity consumption with the elasticity ranging from 45 to 65%. Skeptically, electricity consumers of higher quantile tend to consume more even in the presence of outstanding bill while it is the opposite for low quantile group. Surprisingly, income and other socioeconomics variables don't necessarily affect the households demand for electricity. This implies demand for electricity is inelastic to income and selected socioeconomic variables in rural regions. However, electricity demand decreases for households with dwelling characteristics categorized as poorer quantile. Based on our empirical findings implications are drawn for policy makers.

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