Cooking quality and in vitro digestibility of legumes cooked in different media

Legumes namely blackgram (Phaseolus mungo Roxb.), field bean (Dolichos lablab), lentil (Lens esculenta) and moth bean (Phaseolus aconitifolius Jacq.) were analyzed for proteins. fat, total ash. neutral detergent fibre. calcium. phosphorus and iron. The expansion volumes of legumes after soaking and cooking were recorded. The effect of cooking media (salt, soda, tartaric acid, citric acid at 1% level and water) on in vitro protein and starch digestibilities were analyzed. Results indicated that nutrient contents of legumes were in the following ranges : protein 21-25%, fat 0.8-1.5%, total ash 1.8-3.1%. neutral detergent fibre 11.2-20.0%, phosphorus 220-330 mg%, calcium 93-296 mg% and iron 3.3-5.8 mg%. Legumes recorded an average increase in expansion volume of 269% on soaking and 316% on cooking. The protein digestibility of control samples ranged from 91-97%, which were brought down on addition of soda (70-87%), salt (79-93%). tartaric acid (48-72%) and citric acid (75-81%). The starch digestibility values were 65-67% for blackgram and lentil, 35% for field bean and 44% for moth bean. Alkaline and salt media reduced starch digestibility to 64 and 55% in blackgram, 33% in field bean and 54 and 55% in lentils, respectively. With tartaric acid and citric acid, it increased significantly