Effect of Niger Seed Supplementation on Sensorial and Nutritional Attributes of some Common Indian Recipes

The sensorial and nutritional evaluation of four products developed by using niger seeds (Guizotia abyssinica) was investigated. Idli, poha, dhokla and pop ups were prepared by supplementing niger seeds at different levels for different recipes and were sensorily evaluated using 9 point hedonic rating scale. Incorporation of the quantity of niger seeds higher than 20% decreased the acceptability due to dark colour and high fibre content. Idli, poha, dhokla and pop ups, were found to be acceptable at 15, 20, 10 and 9% level of supplementation of niger seeds, respectively with overall acceptability scores as 8.3, 7.8, 8.5 and 7.8. The developed products were found to have increased nutritive value as compared to their respective control samples in terms of protein, fat, fibre, iron and in vitro protein digestibility. Supplementation of these products to the vulnerable groups can help in combating protein-energy malnutrition and anaemia.