Nutritional, sensory and in-vitro antioxidant characteristics of gluten free cookies prepared from flour blends of minor millets

In order to enhance sensory appeal, seed germination technique was used in the preparation of gluten free cookies from flour blends of minor millets comprising foxtail, barnyard and kodo millets. Analyses (physicochemical, total phenolic content, in-vitro antioxidant, pasting, textural and nutritional, colour, and sensory characteristics) were carried out for flour blends as well as cookies to evaluate the processing effects. Analyses revealed that germinated flour blends contained highest proteins, total phenolics and possessed high in-vitro antioxidant activity, less fat and carbohydrate contents than raw flour blend. Germination had a negative effect on pasting characteristics whereas functional properties were significantly improved of the flour blends. Cookies prepared from raw minor millets flour blends showed highest spread ratio, followed by cookies from germinated flour blends and wheat flour. Snap test values were lowest for cookies made from germinated flour blends whereas phenolic content (45.43 mg/100 g), DPPH activity (42.34%), dietary fibre (12.36 g/100 g) and nutritional value were highest followed by cookies prepared from raw minor millets and control. The sensory evaluation revealed that cookies (A2) prepared from incorporation of germinated foxtail, barnyard and kodo millets in the proportions of 70:20:10 respectively, were most acceptable, highly nutritious and were having desirable functional properties.