Development and quality evaluation of maize dhokla

Abstract

Application of fermentation technique is known to significantly enhance nutrient contents in foods and hence, this study was conducted to develop and evaluate fermented dhokla from maize. Different levels of maize semolina (600 μm) were mixed with bengal gram dhal (2:1, 3:1 and 4:1 ratios) and evaluated for acceptability using subjective and objective methods by taking rice dhokla (3:1) as control. Proximate composition, antinutrients, protein, and starch digestibility of the best accepted ratio at different stages of preparation (raw ingredients‐R, after soaking‐S, after fermenting‐F, and after steam cooking‐C) were analyzed by standard procedures. The taste (8.60), texture (8.80), and overall acceptability (8.32) were superior for 3:1 ratio of maize dhokla. Low chewiness value noticed in the 3:1 combination of maize dhokla indicated soft nature of the product. Reduction of phytic acid (610.58–451.98 mg in maize, 360.49–73.81 mg in rice), polyphenol (490.86–102.28 mg in maize, 279.78–95.13 mg in rice), and tannin (210.11–104.13 mg in maize, 138.36–86.05 mg in rice) content upon fermentation and cooking was observed with concomitant increase in mineral, protein, and starch digestibility. Practical application Maize is being produced on a large scale and only 16% is used for human consumption in India. This is largely due to nonavailability of maize based food products suitable for human consumption to add value to the crop. In this study, maize was incorporated in traditional fermented product dhokla. The advantages of low cost natural fermentation were witnessed with improvement in protein and starch digestibility along with reduction of antinutrients such as polyphenols, tannin, and phytic acids. Due to natural yellow color and good fermentability maize semolina was found highly suitable for the preparation of breakfast item dhokla with more porous and fluffiness compared to rice dhokla.