Growth during adolescence is faster than at any other stage in an individual’s life except for the first year. Good nutrition during adolescence is critical to cover the deficits suffered during childhood. The main strategies suggested for improving adolescents’ nutrition include: food-based strategies like dietary diversification and food fortification, to ensure adequate nutrition at household level. The pulse based dietary strategies prove both nourishing and economical. Horse gram provides 319 Kcal energy/100g, 58.71g carbohydrate/100g, 5.0 g fibre/100g and 234.4mg of calcium/100g and has high protein levels (21.59%) and even better iron contents ( 14.42mg /100g) as has been validated by nutrient analysis in our laboratory. It has also been found to be rich in phosphorus, iron and vitamins such as carotenes, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin-c, which are the vital nutrient for the development of adolescent. Therefore, a nutritious food is developed known as Smridh Upma. This is different from original recipe in vogue as it contains a non conventional food “horse gram” which is relatively high in iron and molybdenum. As for processing of horse gram is concerned, it becomes an essential prerequisite in view of the presence of antinutrients such as phytate, tannins and oxalate. Germination is a simple processing method of food processing at results in an increased nutritive value. By evaluating the recipes through hedonic method it was found that variant C (incorporated with germinated flour) of smridh upma scoring the highest for overall acceptability. Further, the study involving nutrient analysis and product development has focused on an unexplored and underutilized pulse, horse gram, as a source of protein and other micronutrients by using it one of the ingredients of food for infants and children of low socioeconomic settings.
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