COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

Title: Parboiled Ragi Rice Production

Field of Invention; Related to the development of "Raw Finger Millet Rice" and "Parboiled Finger Millet Rice" production.

Prior Art:

After harvest, finger millet is winnowed, pulverized, which is more labourious and cumbersome process due to the size of the grains. In olden days ragi is consumed by cleaning and powdering the ragi including its husk, by the poor people in villages, which in turn affected the eating quality of ragi based food products. It also affects the appearance and acceptability of common people, who are familiarized and customized with the whiter appearance of food grains. Normally ragi based food products prepared in the rural India are Ragi Mudde (dumpling), Ragi Roti, Bhakari (kind of pita bread), Ragi Kali (ragi paste) etc.

Objects of the present Invention:

> First and the foremost objective is to develop a technique to polish ragi in raw condition.

> Secondly improving the milling yield of ragi, by standardizing the method of parboiling, drying and polishing of the parboiled finger millet.

> Thirdly to minimize the breakage and maximize the net out turn of milled millet.

> Another important objective is to substitute rice by ragi by all means, which will ultimately lead to food security and livelihood security of the country.


Brief description of the invention

According to the invention, the production of "Raw Finger Millet Rice", is as follows:

A, Standardization of commercial processing method:

1. Cleaning of raw ragi using cleaners

2. Milling of ragi using commercial emery polisher. The polishing comprises of 5 passes and result in a yield of 66-67%.

According to the invention, the production of "Parboiled Finger Millet Rice" is as follows:

B, Commercial processing method:

B.al. Cold - Soaking method: (Hydration and drying)

1. Cleaning of raw ragi using cleaners

2. Soaking of ragi in cold water for 10 hour£.

3. Draining the water

4. Steaming in steaming vessels of commercial units of cap.200kg/ batch for 1-2 minutes. (l-2min. after emergence of steam on the top of the steaming vessel).

5. Drying under sunlight until the reduction of moisture content to 14%.

B.a2. Hot - Soaking method: (Hydration and drying)

1. Cleaning of raw ragi using cleaners

2. Soaking of raw ragi in hot water of 90°C for 3 hours.

3. Draining the water

4. Steaming in steaming vessels of commercial units of cap.200kg/ batch for 1-2 minutes. (l-2min. after emergence of steam on the top of the steaming Vessel).

6. Drying under sunlight until the reduction of moisture content to 14%.

B.b. Milling:

The dried parboiled ragi is milled in commercial emery polisher. The polishing comprises of 5 passes. The milling yield is 70.0 to 72.0%.

Detailed description of the invention Present status and need for the invention; Present status:

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is also known as African millet or Ragi, is an annual plant widely grown as a cereal in the arid areas of Africa and Asia. Finger millet is originally native to the Ethiopian Highlands and was introduced into India approximately 4000 years ago. It is very adaptable to higher elevations and is grown in the Himalaya up to 2,300 metres in elevation. In India, the approximate production of finger millet is 1.5 tonnes / hectare and the most of the yield is from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Ragi flour is made into flatbreads, including thick, leavened dosa and thinner, unleavened roti. Ragi grain is malted and the flour from the malted grain is consumed after mixing with milk/boiled water/yoghurt. Ragi flour is usually eaten as ragi mudde (literally, ragi paste; also called ragi balls for the round shape). The mudde which is prepared by boiling the ragi nour in water until the water is condensed. The resulting preparation is then rolled into a spherical form and consumed, after applying ghee with sambhar. In Maharashtra bhakari (kind of pita bread) is prepared using ragi flour.In the north-west of Vietnam, finger millet is used as a medicine for women when they give birth. In southern parts of India, pediatricians recommend ragi food for infants of six months and over because of its high nutritional content, especially calcium.
Nutritive value of Ragi per 100 g

Protein 7.3 g
Fat 1.3 g
Carbohydrate 72 g
Minerals 2.7 g
Calcium 3.44 g
Iron 0.02g
Fiber 3.6 g
Energy 328 Kcal

Need for invention :

Finger millet is an important cereal because of its excellent storage properties of the grains and the nutritive value, which is higher than that of rice and equal to that of wheat, It is also a good source of micronutrients like Calcium, Iron, Phosphorus, Zinc and Potassium. Due to the presence of antinutrients in grains such as tannins and phytates, these micronutrients are less bioaccessable. These antinutritional factors modify the nutritional value of the individual grains. Among millets, finger millet was reported to contain high amounts of tannins ranging from 0.04 to 3.47 per cent. Poor iron availability (represented by low ionizable iron) in brown varieties is due to their high tannin content which adversely affect the nutritional quality of the grains. Removal or reduction of tannin, which is mainly present in the pericarp, either by processing, extraction with solvent or by grain germination enhanced the ionizable iron content.

In finger millet though removal of husk is comparatively easier, removal of the pericarp which is red or white in colour is difficult as it is fused with the soft starchy endosperm. Hence a method was standardized which in turn improved the appearance of the finger millet. The improvement in appearance will automatically increase the acceptability of finger millet by the consumers. In general, for milling of ragi, appropriate machinery, and technology is not available. Hence, initially the method was standardized at laboratory level for raw ragi. However, the yield of raw ragi was about 70%. And hence, an alternate source was required to develop in order to improve the milling yield and quality of ragi. Hence, the process of parboiling was applied and standardized which can result in an enormous increase in milling yield. This technology improves the hardness of the grain which in turn does not allow the breakage and powdering of the grains during polishing. However, in order to obtain a wide range of preparation from ragi, milling of raw ragi was also standardized.

Another important need for this study is to substitute rice with ragi, which will equalize the rice based food scarcity in future. The products like Uppuma, Kesari, Halwa, Payasam and the Cooked Ragi Rice mixed with Sambar and Curd can also be made from parboiled whole-milled ragi, while raw ragi could be incorporated in the preparation of Ragi Mies, Dosa, Puttu & other breakfast items.

Advantages of this raw and parboiled finger millet rice:

1. The Raw Finger Millet Rice is suitable to prepare Ragi Idlies, Dosa, Puttu &, other breakfast items, apart from the preparation of traditional ragi Mudde.

2. The Parboiled Finger Millet rice is suitable to prepare the ragi products like Uppuma, Kesari, Halwa, Payasam and the Cooked Parboiled Finger millet Rice is suitable to be consumed with Sambar and Curd.

3. Reduction of Tannin by means of polishing reduces the tannin content in finger millet, enhancing its iron absorbtion and also, absorbtion of other nutrients.

We Claim

Claim 1.

Raw ragi rice production at commercial level comprises of milling of ragi in emery polisher for 5 passes and the yield is 66-67%.

Claim 2.

Parboiled ragi rice production at commercial level comprises of soaking the grains at room temperature for 10hr., steaming for 1-2 min and drying in an open yard under sun,

Claim 3.

Yet another method of Parboiled ragi rice production at commercial level comprises of soaking the grains at 90°C hot water for 3hrs and holding it for another 3 hrs after draining the water. The soaked ragi is steamed for 1 - 2 minutes and dried in an open yard under sun.

Claim 4.

The above cleaned parboiled dried ragi grains, milled five passes in emery polisher which results in 70 - 72 % milled parboiled ragi yield.

Claim 5.

The resultant raw ragi rice appears white in colour.

Claim 6.

The resultant parboiled ragi rice appears light brown in colour.