Development of value added low glycemic index barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea Link) noodles

Barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea Link) is one of the important nutritious minor millet and good source of macronutrient, micronutrient and nutraceutical components. As the concept of low glycaemic index foods is gaining interest for the effective management of diabetes mellitus, efforts have been accelerated in this direction to bring into light various foods of low glycaemic index. Noodles are most preferred food items among all age groups having longer shelf life and good commercial importance. Hence an attempt was made to develop barnyard millet based value added low glycaemic index noodles. Trials were conducted by incorporating sago flour, pulse flour and bengal gram leaf powder at different levels to barnyard millet flour to develop plain, pulse and vegetable noodles respectively and were evaluated organoleptically. The best accepted variations of plain, pulse and vegetable noodles were evaluated for nutrient composition and glcaemic index. The findings indicated significant increase in nutrient composition in pulse and vegetable noodles. The glycaemic index of pulse noodles (35.65) and vegetable noodles (38.02) were significantly less than plain noodles (42.07). Thus, the developed noodles with low glycaemic index can be recommended for inclusion in diabetic diet.