Development and Evaluation of Physicochemical Properties of Pulse Added Protein Rich Pasta

Sri Lanka is experiencing a nutritional transition along with under-nutrition, overweight, and obesity. Consumers are becoming health conscious and pasta products are fetching great attention. However, legumes and cereals are nutritionally complementary, where together provide the essential amino acid profile for vegans. In this study, wheat semolina was substituted with soya and mung flour to develop five pasta formulations (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5). F1 - soy 40%, F2 - soy 30% & mung 10%, F3 -soy 20% & mung 20%, F4 - soy 10% & mung 30%, F5 - mung 40%. All the samples have the protein content of more than 15% which complies with the local regulation. All the five samples were evaluated for the proximate composition, cooking time and sensory qualities. Pulse incorporated pasta show increased cooking time compared to control. According to the sensory evaluation data, there is a significant difference among the five samples for color, texture, taste and overall acceptability but there is no significant difference among the sample for mouth feel of the product. Based on physicochemical & proximate composition, cooking time and sensory qualities, pasta containing soy flour (40%) resulted in better quality having more nutritional elements and highest overall acceptability.