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 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021

Entrepreneurship Opportunities in Nutri-Cereal Processing Sector

S Balasubramanian1, Subir Kumar Chakraborty2, Nachiket Kotwaliwale3,

Adinath Kate2 and Dawn CP Ambrose1
1
Regional Centre, ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Coimbatore-641 007
2
Agro Produce Processing Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering,
Bhopal – 462038
3
Director, ICAR-Central Institute of Postharvest Engineering and Technology, Ludhiana - 141004
E-mail: nachiket.kotwaliwale@gmail.com
Received: 24th August 2020 | Accepted: 23rd September 2020

Abstract for their cultivation. Millet, contrary to rice and

wheat, can grow almost anywhere. Government
Nutri-Cereals or millets can bring about
of India has named millets as “Nutri-Cereals”
a dietary advantage to its consumers and help
in 2018.The Nutri-Cereals once occupied a
them in combating many lifestyle diseases.
place of pride in the Indian cuisine, with time,
There are many types of millets which have
lost their sheen to the bludgeoning popularity
been traditionally quite popular in various
of crops like wheat and rice. Millets have been
parts of India and the world. These millets
continually neglected and have been relegated
have different types of advantages yet varied
to be grown by the farmers mostly in the tribal
challenges concerning their post-harvest
pockets of India. Every state of peninsular
handling and processing. Various technologies
India has a certain group of millets being
along with suitable process machines have
still cultivated by the fringe farmers. Millets
made it possible to overcome major challenges
as whole-grain makes available the dietary
related to storage life, off-flavours, rancidity,
fibre, minerals, phenolics and vitamins to the
toxicity, etc. These technologies have also made
consumer. Processing methods like soaking,
it possible to prepare a large variety of products
malting, decortications and cooking affects
at an industrial scale with higher efficiencies,
the anti-oxidant and anti-nutritional content
hence giving the consumer a broad choice of
present in the grain. In general, the millets
nutritious yet savoury food products. Many such
comprise 7-12% protein, 2-5% fat, 65-75%
products could find a place in nutrition-related
carbohydrates and 15-20% dietary fibre. Most
programmes for women and child development
millets contain fewer cross-linked prolamins,
and also serve as functional foods. Processing
perhaps this is a contributing factor to higher
of millets into various ready-to-cook or ready-
digestibility of the millet proteins. The millet
to-eat products presents a great opportunity for
cooking process and preparation are also
developing entrepreneurship of different scales.
similar to major staple food grains. They
have many health benefits associated with
Introduction
whole grain cereals and dietary fibre, such
TARs

Wheat and rice are the dominant cereals
at the global level. Cultivation of wheat and
rice require a specific kind of environmental
condition, therefore there are different regions
29
as lower plasma cholesterol (Davidssonet al.,
1991) and reduced glycaemic index (Jenkins
et al., 2002). Time has now placed millets
in a position of precedence because of its
 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021
nutritional composition and climate-friendly
agronomy. Small millets (finger, foxtail,
kodo, little, barnyard and proso) are crops of
antiquity having a long history of cultivation
of more than 5000 years and are known for
their suitability to drylands, hill and tribal
agriculture. They require little or no irrigation,
mature early, are well suited for cultivation
under resource-scarce conditions and are a
good source of food, feed and fodder.
Years of neglect has resulted in millets as
not being adequately researched for its potential
of value addition and its value chain is limited
to harvesting, threshing, cleaning, dehulling
and pearling, for millet rice as the end product.
Many millet grains are extremely small, have
a very thin bran layer with the germ lurking
just beneath it. Dehulling results in exposing
this germ to the air leading to the storability
challenges for the grain and the flour.
During the past decade, the Indian
agriculture and food industry have re-focused
their approaches in reviving this long-neglected
traditional crop of India by intervening in
practices of production technology through
value addition operations customized for
millets. Thus, these forgotten Nutri-Cereals
are slowly being accepted in the processed
food industry. One can find these Nutri-Cereals
as raw, semi-processed and finished product
form in the shelves of the superstores and
malls. At this juncture, it is ensuring that there
lies an adequate quantum of scope for mass
entrepreneurship opportunities in processing
and value addition of millets.
Production and market value chain
In India, millets were a part of culture
since time immemorial. Millets are grown from
sea level to mid-hills, right from Tamil Nadu
in the South to Uttarakhand in the North, and
TARs
Gujarat in the West to Arunachal Pradesh in
the Northeast. The total area under these crops
during the year 2015-16 was 8.84 million ha
with a production of 10.28 million tons at an
30
average productivity of 1.16 t/h (Anonymous,
2016).
A collection of activities that results in
enhanced value of an agricultural commodity,
which includes production, processing, storage
and marketing fall under the gambit of the
value chain. Millets especially the minor ones
cannot be claimed as cultivated; they just
grow. Input to growing millets still wrests to
broadcasting seeds and then harvesting the
crop after 100 to 120 days. Therefore, any
iota of work done on the harvested crops
directly results in the enhancement of its
value. All the unit operations of processing
results in the generation of commodities that
hold value and bear an extreme scope for
addition of value. The basic unit operations
and machinery used for millet processing
have been discussed in the subsequent para
followed by a complete enumeration of the
possibilities of the value-added products from
the millets. Challenge posed by millets can be
classed as three-pronged, (I) evaluation of the
elements of toxicity associated with the millets,
(II) enhance the storability of the pearled grains
or millet flours,and (III) generation of basic
quality standards for millets grains as well as
the finished products. Absence of standards
for monitoring quality of the grains has made
the manufacture of quality consistent value-
added products an uphill task. These are three
key areas that demand quick action from the
respective bodies for further bolstering the
cause of popularization of millets.
Threshing
Threshing is the first operation after
harvesting of the crops, generally carried out
at field itself. The non-edible portion of the
plant that holds grains are removed during this
operation; grains are made available for further
unit operations. Various small capacity, millet
specific threshers have been developed by NARS
and are used by farmers all across India. In
some millets shelling to some extent takes place

Table1. Different types of millets and their traits
Type of Millet/ Indian
vernacular name(s)
Sorghum
(Sorghum bicolor)/Jowar,
Jwari, Jondhla, Jola, Jonna,
Cholam, Juara, Rotla
Pearl millet
(Pennisetumglaucum)/
Bajra, Bajri, Sajja, Sajje,
Cumbu,Kambam, Bajro, Sajje,
sajjalu
Foxtail millet
(Setariaitalica)/ Syamadhan,
Ralkang, Kangni,
Priyanguthene, Shol, Thina,
Rala, Kangni, Thenai, Korralu, copper. It also helps to reduce the levels of bad
Moha,Kakankora, Chinka
Finger millet
(Eleusinecoracana)/ Madua,
Bhav, Madua, Ragi, Moothari, also a rich source of calcium and other essential
Nachni, Mandia, Kezhvaragu, minerals. It is a storehouse of protein and
Ragulu, Finger millet,
Korakan, Rajika
Barnyard millet
(Echinochloafrumantacea)/
Shamula, Sama, Shama,
Samai, Shamul, Kudiraivali,
Bontachamalu,Sawank,
Shyama
Kodo millet
(Paspalumscrobiculatum)/
Kodoadhan,Kodra, Haraka,
Varagu, Harik, Kodus, Vargu, magnesium, and iron, thus it helps prevent
Arikalu, Pakodi, Manakodra
Little Millet
(Panicummiliare)/ Kangni,
Gadro, Kutki, Samai,
Ganuhaar, Chama, Sava,
Suan, Samai, Goudli,
Gondola
Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021
Major growing states
Traits of millet
in India
It is a very popular gluten-free grain. The Telangana, Andhra
calcium content is closely similar to that in Pradesh, Maharashtra,
wheat and rice. It is packed with iron, protein, Karnataka, Madhya
fibre and micronutrients. Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
It has iron content 8 times higher than rice. It Rajasthan,
is also rich in protein, fibre, and other minerals Maharashtra, Haryana,
such as calcium and magnesium. Since it has Uttar Pradesh and
good fibre content, it helps ease in problems Gujarat
with digestion. Induces lactation and helps in
efficient milk secretion.
It is rich in complex carbohydrates which don’t Karnataka,
increase the blood sugar levels immediately but Uttarakhand, Tamil
slowly release glucose into the bloodstream. It Nadu, Maharashtra,
is rich in dietary fibre and minerals like iron and Andhra Pradesh
cholesterol and keeps the immune system strong
as well.
One of the most popular millets considered as Karnataka,
a good replacement for rice and wheat. It is Uttarakhand,
Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland, Madhya
known to show a positive effect on the blood Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
glucose level. Tamil Nadu
It has a considerable amount of fibre that Madhya Pradesh,
helps maintain satiety. This millet is a rich Tamil Nadu,
source of bone-building minerals like calcium Karnataka,
and phosphorus. Its good antioxidant profile Chhattisgarh,
helps in improving the complications of non- Jharkhand
communicable diseases and degenerative
disorders like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases,
etc.
This is millet closely resembles rice. Madhya Pradesh,
It is easy to digest and is rich in Chhattisgarh, Tamil
phytochemicals,antioxidants,calcium, Nadu, Maharashtra,
Uttar Pradesh
major lifestyle diseases. It is claimed to reduce
knee and joint pain and helps regularise the
menstrual cycle in women.
It is a rich source of B-vitamins, minerals like Madhya Pradesh,
calcium, iron, zinc, potassium among others. Chhattisgarh, Andhra
TARs
Little millet contains around 5.2 per cent of fat Pradesh, Karnataka,
with a good content of unsaturated fat. Its high Arunachal Pradesh,
fibre content is yet another advantage making it Maharashtra,
an ideal replacement for rice in some dishes. Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu
31
 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021

Type of Millet/ Indian Major growing states

Traits of millet
vernacular name(s) in India
Proso Millet It is rich in protein and has complex Maharashtra, Bihar,
(Panicummiliaceum)/ carbohydrate. This millet has a low glycaemic Odisha, Rajasthan,
Vari,Barri, Chena, Baragu, index. It has a high content of antioxidants Tamil Nadu
Pingu, Panivaragu, Vari and minerals like magnesium, potassium, and
China, Panivaragu, Varagalu, phosphorus. This helps in preventing conditions
French millet like osteoporosis.
Other few small-seeded Nutri-Cereals
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), Chia (Salvia hispanica), brown top (BrachiariaramosaL.),teff (Eragrostistef)

during threshing. Generally, a tightly bound
husk layer gets removed during shelling till
the pericarp is exposed. Threshing is followed
by winnowing which is an effective method
of removal of lightweight feathery dust field
materials, immature and infested broken grains.
Drying
It is a critical unit operation which
needs to opted judiciously. Drying prevents
TARs
germination of seeds, to retain the maximum
quality of the grain and help it to reach a
level of safe storage moisture, which does
not allow the growth of bacteria and fungi.
It is reported that drying considerably retards
the development of mites and insects in the
stored grains.
Sun drying of the millets is carried out
mostly in open yards of fields or mills. The drying
time required is quite high and an increased

Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the complete value chain of millets grown in India.

32

chance of cross-contamination persist in sun
drying. The mechanical drying system is used
in processing units or mills for fast drying with
continuous operation. Continuous flow hot-air
dryers like LSU-dryer as well as deep bed batch
type of dryers are recommended for the drying
of millets. The drying of millet in mechanical
dryers is carried at around 55-60°C at an
appropriate airflow rate with due consideration
for aerodynamic properties of the grains.
Cleaning
Cleaning is an effective method
of reducing food wastage, improving the
economics of further processing and providing
the consumer with safe food. Cleaning of the
millets also saves the processing machines
from incidents of damages due to stones, mud
balls, field straws etc. and maintain the cost-
effectiveness of the operating machines. The
use of winnowers, pre-cleaners, destoners
and cleaner-separators especially designed for
millet grains with appropriate attachments are
recommended for the cleaning and grading
of the millets. Cleaning of the grains is
accomplished by equipment commonly known
as cleaner-separators.
This equipment mainly consists of a
reception hopper, a blower or aspirator and set
of vibrating sieves. The lighter materials and
impurities get separated through air blowing or
aspiration called scalping. After the scalping,
grain lot is classified as per the size through
an assembly of vibrating sieves. As the sieves
are replaceable, the same machine could be
used for cleaning of multiple types of millets.
The efficiency of the operation depends on
the moisture content of grains and feed rate
to the machines.
Dehulling
Dehulling is an operation where the
grain is subjected to a lot of physical stress,
this at times leads to rupture along the planes
of failure resulting in broken grains with less
33
Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021
market value. Parboiling is a hydrothermal
treatment that counters this negative effect
of dehulling in a big way. During parboiling,
pre-gelatinized starch seals the hairline cracks,
makes a homogeneous mass of gelatinized
starch, and thus prevent the milling losses. This
parboiled millet kernel exhibits a little longer
shelf life with good cooking characteristics.
The dehulling process is also referred
to as dehusking/decortication/pearling.
Traditionally, this drudgery prone operation
was performed by rural women, i.e. manual
pounding using pestle and mortar, yielding 2
kg of the dehulled kernel in 6 hours. Dehulling
improves the biological availability of nutrients
and reduction in the anti-nutritional constituents
of the grain. Now, various types and capacity
of motorized millet dehullers are available
based on the working principle, mechanism,
construction etc.
(i) Abrasive type: These machines are known
as Tangential Abrasive Dehulling Devices
(TADD).In this process, abrasion of grain
hull takes place between (a) abrasive roller
stone surface and grain surface, (b) grain to
grain surface and (c) grain surface to outer
canvas screen surface. It is available in
batch and continuous type model. These
machines are generally used in large
scale(>1 TPH) industrial processes; they
are heavy, requires huge electric power;
producing a lot of noise and dust.
(ii) Rubber roll sheller: It is a modified rice
rubber roll sheller for dehulling of millets.
But with the different morphological features
of the millet grains, this sheller could yield
limited success. This machine consists of an
adjustable pair of rubber rollers, rotating in
opposite directions with differential speed.
While the grain passes through the rollers,
there exists a gentle holding and shearing
TARs
at the roller gaps. Partial dehulling occurs
and these small grains are imbibed in the
rollers surface i.e. within the resilience
tolerance limit of rubber. This went on to
 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021
be the reason of non-acceptability of this
huller for millet dehulling.
(iii) CIAE-Millet mill: It is a gender-neutral
and eco-friendly compact millet mill.
It comprises a pair of lightweight
(carborundum) abrasive stone disks being
operated by 1 hp single-phase motor. It
works on the principle of gentle shearing
and friction. The capacity of the machine
is 100 kg/h, even a batch as small as 100 g
millet grain can be dehulled. The dehulling
zone is attached with cyclone separator,
thus it is an environmentally friendly
machine. The dehulling and separation
of husk takes places, simultaneously in
the same machine. The dehulled kernel
is collected gravimetrically and husk is
collected separately by suction and cyclone
separator arrangement. Being compact and
comparatively lightweight, this machine
can be adopted and operated in the millet
producing catchment area, hilly region
and at cottage industrial level.
(iv) Centrifugal dehulling: The millet grains are
subjected to centrifugal hit (high speed,
2880-3500 rpm) with the circumferential
high resilience rubber pad in an encased
drum. This machine operates with a 7.5
HP motor. In the market, both single stage
or double stage centrifugal dehullers are
available.
Millet grain sorting
The specific gravity separation is required
immediately after the dehulling operation. This
machine separates the dehulled millet kernel
from raw millet grains, foreign material with
the same size but different density and broken
of the same density but different size and same
size but of different densities. Thus, it ensures
the stone-free good quality graded Nutri-Cereals
TARs
and broken free dehulled kernel (rice). In large-
scale millet processing units, colour sorters are
used. Colour sorting mainly uses the difference
between the reflective properties of grains over
34
some specific portion of the spectrum. Colour
sorting ensures the premium quality grades of
millet products.
Storage and packaging
Nutri-Cereal grains with the reduced
safer level of moisture content can be stored
for a longperiod. However, the processed
Nutri-Cereals (in any form) have less shelf
life. Hence, airtight packing and other suitable
techniques are of utmost importance for the
long usage life of the product. The packaging
and storage requirement varies with the
different forms of Nutri-Cereal products.
Traditionally millets are stored in
indigenous systems like kothis, baskets, bins etc.
especially constructed using locally available
materials like wooden strips, planks, ropes,
cow dung etc. till date, this is being practised
in tribal and hill areas. Otherwise, the jute bags
are recommended for storage of cleaned millet
grains in a cool and dry place. The bags must
be disinfected before use and during refilling
of already used bags. Particular thickness and
tailored made LDPF or HDPE polyethene film
bags are used based on the type of the value-
added product to be stored. A film with very
low oxygen permeability and water vapour
permeability is mostly recommended for the
packaging of dehulled millets and millets flour.
Complete removal of entrapped air during the
filling must be ensured. The bag size canvary
from 100 g to 100 kg as per the consumer
requirement.
Postharvest processing and value addition
Historically, these millet seeds are
kept in temple towers called ‘Kalasam’.In
general, millet grains are much smaller with
a tough husk, having different (grain/kernel)
colours; they have a longer storage life, if not
dehusked. Ironically, adding value to the grains
by dehulling (removal of the husk) process
results in a reduced storability of kernel/flour
to not more than 15-30 days. Considering its

nutritional profile, less storability of its primarily
processed products, it becomes very important
to have pertinent post-harvest processing
and management practices in place. Most of
the morphological and structural features of
Nutri-Cereals demands a specifically designed
harvesting and post-harvest equipment and
management protocols to exploit the full
commercial potential of these grains.
There are a lot of technologies that have
been developed to make millet popular amongst
the masses in ready-to-cook / ready-to-serve
product market. These products are nutritious
and are of the genre commonly consumed
in Indian households. Therefore, these foods
find ready acceptance amongst the regular
consumers of a similar traditional product.
Primary processed products
Primary processing assumes importance
as it forms the basis for making quality
secondary and tertiary products out of any
agricultural commodity. Now-a-days, healthy
whole-grain food consumption has increased
with a large section of the global population.
This scenario demands a wider range of raw
and semi-processed Nutri-Cereals products viz.,
milled millet rice (raw/parboiled), semolina
(raw and roasted Rava/suji) and flour (raw/
roasted/fortified), similar to wheat and rice
products. The presence of tannins causes the
millet flours to have a tangy after-taste and
storage of this flour is limited to a few days
because of the oxidation of the peripheral
oil layer just beneath the hull. Inclusion of
fermentation as a grain pre-treatment operation
can lessen the tannins, increase vitamin B,
better the taste, and improve the shelf life
(Antony and Chandra, 1998). Incorporation
of millets into popular food products has now
become common and rampant. Millets are
an excellent source of dietary fibres and can
be used in encapsulated forms for medicinal
uses as well. The ICAR-Central Institute of
Agricultural Engineering has introduced an
innovative integrated woman and eco-friendly
35
Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021
village level Millet Processing Centres (MPC)
in the millet growing tribal catchment areas (i)
Harshdiwari Tribal Village, Patalkot, Madhya
Pradesh, and (ii) Aasanur Tribal Village,
Western Ghats, Satyamangalam, Tamil Nadu
(Fig. 2). This Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
and Farmers Producers Organization (FPO)
concept of establishing this power-operated
setup promoted the household consumption
and built a feasible grain-based value chain with
the nearby villages of the district, extending it
a market spectrum. The basic model MPC
comprises (i) Cleaner-grader-destoner (ii) CIAE-
Millet Mill (iii) Grain Polisher (iv) Pulveriser
(v) Flour Sifter (vi) Packaging gadgets. This
concept-based working model (>3 years) has
remarkably classically addressed the livelihood
promotion activities; keeping these tribal
farmers/villagers (i) meaningfully occupied (ii)
in a sustainable manner (iii) with dignity and
(iv) goes beyond income generation. Also,
the availability of this Centre at their habitats,
enable them to check-in the MPC and go
back with millet products of their own choice
of the end product (rice, Rawa, flour). Also,
this model eliminates the transportation cost
of grains to longer distances for milling or
prevents them from selling their harvested
grain to the middle man at a very lower
price. It is used extensively both by the Tribal
Producer Company (an FPO) as well as tribal
farmers for their household consumption.
With these initiatives, the producer company
has created their brand of product range and
are available in larger market domain. Based
on this ‘Success Story’ through initiation and
establishment of MPC concept, incubation and
entrepreneurship development, today, many
millet-based mass start-ups across the country
are coming up at a rapid pace.
Secondary and tertiary processed products
TARs
Variety of RTE/RTS convenient foods
viz., whole-grain food (cooked/popped/roasted/
flaked), formulated foods (convenience / health-
mixes / malted), snack foods (extruded/shaped)
 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021

and functional foods etc. have been successfully Snack foods

attempted to be made by the millets. Snacks are one of the most suitable
Whole-grain foods ways to ingest nutritious food products to
living beings. Extruded snacks are ready-to-
Because of harnessing the available
eat products prepared using twin-screw hot
nutrients in the food, now-a-days the healthy
extruder which combines heating with the
whole grain food concept is getting a lot of
act of extrusion to create a shaped cooked
attention. For example, popped millets, flaked
product through a die. Extruded snacks can
millets and millet muesli are becoming popular.
be prepared from millets used in moderation
Research work has revived and scaled up the
with other key ingredients. Flaking machines
production process of a healthy whole grain
can also be used to make extruded ready-to-
food i.e. ‘Achikae’. This is a traditional tribal
eat flakes from millets. Extruded round shaped
food of Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu Western ghats). It
balls are flattened in roller flaking machine
prepared by using hydrothermally treated roasted
to get such products. These snacks can be
little millet grains followed by a meticulous
coated with desired spices to create variations
dehulling process. It is a highly nutritious food
in the taste and flavour. The cold extrusion
and is also commercially available.
process can also be adapted to make ready-
Millets Flour to-cook products from millets. Semolina of
almost all the minor (finger, foxtail, pearl)
Flour is used as the main ingredient for
millets and refined wheat can be blended to
various recipes. This flour also forms a part of
produce vermicelli or noodles. There is a good
the millets based “instant mixes”. Millet grains
market potential for such noodles as they are
are processed by dry milling. The dry milling
rich in dietary fibres and minerals. Another
process starts with the cleaning of grains. The
very successful product of cold extrusion if
cleaned grain is milled by the hammer mills to
millet pasta. This product uses raw ingredients
separate the endosperm, germ and bran from
as is used for millet noodles. This is very
each other to get fine flour. Presence of tannins
useful because of its low cost and continuous
causes this flour to have a tangy after taste and
processing capability has been accepted as one
storage of this flour is limited to a few days.
of the most useful technologies during recent
Manufacture of millet flour after a designed
years in the field of food processing.
fermentation process for the grains results in a
product with fewer tannins, higher vitamin B, Puffing is a common food processing
better taste, and shelf life. The product can be technique which is a resultant of explosive
also be used as a gluten-free cereals flour. This puffing or gun puffing. Sorghum puffs are
sorghum and pearl millet flour can be stored product formed after consistent expansion
in 100-micron LDPE packets for about six and keeping forthright the grain identity in terms
three weeks, respectively. Incorporation of of shape and size. The puff gun machine is
millets in traditional cereal-based food products loaded with dehulled sorghum grain onto a
is achieved by using “instant mixes”, which rotating barrel and the mixture is roasted and
are nothing but a mixture of raw ingredients fired resulting in a puffed sorghum product.
ready to form a batter and can be made into
roti, upma, idli, dosa, kheer/payasam, laddoo, Baked products
TARs

etc. This approach has elevated millets as an
ingredient of convenience foods which can
be readily reconstituted to accomplish any
traditional foods.
36
Millets have found as a minor ingredient
or major ingredient or exclusive ingredient in
almost all the baked products that are consumed
on daily basis, be it cookies, bread, cakes, buns,

pizza bases, to name a few. Consumers prefer
healthy products to conventional foods, hence
there is a preference for millet-based bakery
foods. Baking also allows biofortification of
the baked products with minerals by using,
e.g. gingelly seeds for zinc, garden cress for
iron, etc.
Beverages and weaning foods
Millet based beverages and weaning
foods have also been developed with milk,
malted cereals, soy milk, etc. as the base
ingredient. Non-dairy plant-based lactose-free
yoghurt with sorghum and soya milk is an
acceptable product. Sprouted finger-millet with
other ingredients as, - green gram, soybean,
coconut, milk powder has been used to make
flavoured beverages. Millets impart minerals
and starch while sprouted legumes improved
solubility and extractability of nutrients while
increasing the levels of antioxidants and
flavonoids. There is also a specially designed
“porridge mix” to combat nutritional deficiency
among children. The product is crafted from
premium quality natural ingredients like
cereals, sorghum/finger-millet, pulses, oilseeds,
dairy ingredients, protein isolates, and fruit.
Rich in protein, minerals, and vitamins, this
product is free from artificial colours, flavours
or preservatives.
Conclusion
Nutri-Cereals are a staple food for
many communities in India and abroad,
due to low productivity and shorter post-
Fig. 2. Millet Processing Centre established at Aasanur, Erode Dt.,
Tamil Nadu and Village Harshdiwari, Chhindwara Dt., MP
37
Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021
processing shelf life they have been relegated
to less importance in human diet but now are
again gaining popularity owing to nutritional
advantages and availability of appropriate
processing technology. Whole grain, flours,
fermented, baked, are some of the popular
forms in which millets are consumed, both
in individual or fortified forms. Leading
institutes of India like ICAR – Indian Institute
of Millet Research, Hyderabad, Central
Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal,
Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering
and Technology, Ludhiana, State Agricultural
Universities associated with AICRP on PHET,
PJ University of Agricultural Sciences and
Technology, Hyderabad, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore,
Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology,
Thanjavur, GBP University of Agricultural
Technology, Pantnagar, ICAR-VPKAS, Almora,
etc. are some of the leading institutions of
India who have developed technologies for
post-harvest handling and processing of Nutri-
Cereals. In the local as well as international
markets, there exists a good potential for a
variety of products based on or fortified with
millets. It has been seen that a millet processing
plant working at a capacity of 0.8 tons per day
and processing only millet rice and/or flour
requires an investment of Rs. 5 Lakh on plant
and machinery and can generate a net profit of
around Rs. 13 Lakhs. Also, there isa sufficient
number of technology providers and suppliers
for the required plant machinery. Hence, the
establishment of enterprises for processing
of millets could be a profitable venture for TARs
 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 3 No 1, Jan-Feb 2021
entrepreneurs and at the same time beneficial
to consumers.
Further reading
Ahmed SG (2001) Safe food grains to Fight
Hunger, Intensive Agricultural, September-
October pp. 34-37
Ambrose D C P; Annamalai S J K; Naik R;
Anurag Kumar; Dubey A K; Chakraborty
S K. (2017). Performance studies on millet
processing machinery for tribal livelihood
promotion. J App NaturSci, 9 (3): 1796
-1800.
Antony, U., Sripriya, G., Chandra, T.
S. (1996). Effect of fermentation on
the primary nutrients in finger millet
(Eleusinecoracana). Journal of Agricultural
and Food Chemistry, 44(9), 2616-2618.
Asharani, V. T., Jayadeep, A., Malleshi,
N. G. (2010). Natural antioxidants in
edible flours of selected small
millets. International Journal of Food
Properties, 13(1), 41-50.
Balasubramanian S and Patil RT. (2011). Modern
processing technologies for sorghum
products. Processed Food Industry, 14(3):
13-18.
Balasubramanian, S., Viswanathan, R., &
Sharma, R. (2007). Post-harvest processing
of millets: An appraisal. Agricultural
Engineering Today, 31(2), 18-23.
Chakraborty S K; Gupta S; Kotwaliwale N.
(2016). Quality characteristics of gluten-
free bread from barnyard millet - soy flour
blends. J Food SciTechnol, 53(12): 4308
– 4315.
Chakraborty, S. K., Raza, R. R., Ambrose, D.
C., Kotwaliwale, N., Azad, S. R., Dubey, A.
K. (2018). Processing and Value Addition
TARs
of Millets in Tribal Production Catchment-A
Success Story. Agricultural Engineering
Today, 42(3), 56-62.
38
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Chethan, S., Malleshi, N. G. (2007). Finger
millet polyphenols: characterization and
their nutraceutical potential. American
Journal of Food Technology, 2(7), 582-592.
Davidsson, L., Cederblad, A., Lönnerdal,
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of individual dietary components on
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American journal of clinical nutrition, 54(6),
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Dayakar Rao B, Sangappa, Vishala A.D, Arlene
Christina G.D and Tonapi V.A. (2016).
Technologies of Millet Value Added
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ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research.
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Malleshi, N. G. (1989). Processing of small
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Sharma, N., Niranjan, K. (2018). Foxtail millet:
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Shobana, S., Krishnaswamy, K., Sudha,
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millet (Ragi, Eleusinecoracana L.): a review
of its nutritional properties, processing, and
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MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS
WELFARE | GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
2018. http://www.nutricereals.dac.gov.in/