Formulation of little millet based south Indian traditional tribal food (Achikae) through linear programming approach

Achikae, one of the traditional food products of south Indian tribal people has been prepared from small millets using linear programming (LP) model. Dehulled little millet, dried coconut and sugar mixed formulations were designed using linear programming (LP) model to minimise the total cost of finished product. The little millet was dehulled after soaking (8 h), parboiling (30 min) and roasting (140°C, 15 min). Cost and nutritive value of LP formulated achikae mix was calculated and sensory evaluation was done. The low cost mix product (Rs. 42 kg⁻¹) obtained using linear programming was composed of little millet (51.0%), dried coconut (32.8%) and sugar (16.2%). The formulated mix provided 5.05–6.53 g of protein, 140 mg of calcium and 5.96–7.72 mg of iron. Sensory evaluation results revealed that all the formulated mix scored acceptability range.