Development and Evaluation of Indian Traditional Sweet ‘Laddoo’ Supplemented with Germinated Pumpkin Seed Flour

Aim: The study was planned to evaluate Indian traditional sweet ‘Laddoo’ supplemented with germinated pumpkin seed flour. Study Design: The traditional recipe was supplemented by replacing the whole wheat flour and bengalgram flour with 10, 20 and 30% of germinated pumpkin seed flour. The developed products were subjected to organoleptic and nutritional evaluation. The results were subjected to statistical analysis using ANOVA. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried in Department of Foods & Nutrition and was part of doctoral research work carried out between 2017-19. Methodology:  Sensory evaluation of developed products was carried out using 9-point hedonic scale.  The samples were further analysed for moisture, ash, crude fat, crude protein and crude fiber, total, soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, total and available minerals using standard methods. Results: The supplementation resulted in a significant (P≤0.05) increase in ash, crude fat, crude protein and crude fiber while total carbohydrates decreased. The supplemented product had crude protein ranging from 19.39-25.59 g; crude fibre 2.21 -3.24 g and ash 5.70-8.19 g/100 g at different levels of incorporation as against 16.53, 1,64 and 3.66 g/100 g respectively in control product. Significant increase was observed in mineral content also. The supplemented products had calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium and phosphorus ranging from 63.47-95.46, 132.63-133.58, 3.58-7.51, 6.49-11.33, 639.53-884.34 and 343.32-356.63 mg/100 g on dry matter basis. The developed products were acceptable to judges. Conclusion: Incorporation of germinated pumpkin seed flour significantly (P≤0.05) improved the nutrient and mineral profile of whole wheat flour Bengal flour Laddoo. Such developed products can be very useful in combating the macronutrient and micronutrients deficiency problem in population of all age groups.