Author(s): Dr. D Vijayarani, A Jeevarathinam and S Marieswari

Abstract:
Millets are unique among the cereals because of their richness in calcium, dietary fibre, polyphenols and protein. They are nutrients rich and recommended for the health and well-being of infants, lactating mothers, elderly and convalescents. Four millets such as bajra, sawan, Jowar and kodo which are rich in flavonoids and total phenols were selected and subjected to biochemical analysis. The research revealed that among the four millets, total phenols were highest in bajra (1mg) followed by sawan (0.9mg) Jowar (0.8mg) kodo (0.7mg). It was also found that the flavonoids content was also highest in the millet of bajra (0.5mg) compared to sawan (0.31mg) kodo (0.5mg) and jowar (0.5mg).So bajra was selected for food product development and further analysis. Bajra, is referred as the “magical pearl” It is a gluten free grain and it is noted for its high iron content. It has immense health benefits and uses. Three traditional food products such as Bajra laddoo, Bajra kolukattai, Bajra malt were formulated. The malted bajra powder contains 10mg of iron,1g of fibre,40mg of calcium, 300mg of phosphorous, 5g of moisture, 12g of protein and 130 ʯg of ß carotene. The bacterial content was enumerated by using standard plate count method in the malted bajra powder.