Pectin and calcium chloride treatment for low-fat fried green gram splits

Abstract

Fried green gram (Phaseolus mungo L) splits are a traditional savoury relished by consumers of all age groups as an anytime snack. The high oil content in such products is of concern owing to its association with obesity and related health disorders. The present work evaluates the effect of soaking green gram splits in calcium chloride solution (2.5-10 g kg-1) for 3 h followed by air drying and a subsequent dip in 10-30 g l-1 pectin solution for 10 min, again followed by air drying, on the oil content in the fried product prepared from them. After frying in groundnut oil at 170 ± 5°C for 2 min, the oil content in the pretreated fried product was reduced to 211.7 g kg-1, compared with 335 g kg-1 for the untreated control. Attempts to further reduce the oil content by applying a second coating of pectin were unsuccessful. © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry.