Development of functional Lassi (stirred indian yoghurt) supplemented with beetroot (Beta vulgaris) juice

Beetroot, a very nutritious vegetable, used for human consumption in raw and cooked form is also a potential source of saponins, betacyanines, betanin and polyphenols. Due to presence of betalains, the natural color pigments, beetroot is also used in food industry as source of natural color in various food products. Besides this, beetroot is also having therapeutic properties such as anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and anti-mutagenic properties. Therefore, a functional lassi (stirred Indian yoghurt) supplemented with beetroot juice was developed in the present study. Beetroot with red bulb was procured from local market of mehsana, washed, peeled and shredded before subjecting it to blanching and roasting treatments. Based on sensory evaluation, the lassi supplemented with blanched juice got significantly higher (p<0.05) scores than the roasted one. Further, the physicochemical and anti-oxidative properties of the developed product were also evaluated and compared with control.