Panaji: Rural women making vermicelli from jackfruit and banana may soon find a market among shoppers who prefer their food to be gluten-free. The ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI) has developed a technology to grow vermicelli from two fruits and is training rural women to make gluten-free vermicelli.
“Nowadays, people are highly diet conscious and at times, some people are advised gluten-free diet by doctors. These items can be a replacement for those following such a diet,” said Sunetra Talolikar, subject matter specialist (home science) at ICAR-CCARI.
Apart from regular vermicelli sweets like kheer or siviyan, jackfruit vermicelli can also be used to make upma, while banana vermicelli can be used to make pudding, bun batter and pancakes.
The technology has been popularized by the institute among farmers, rural women and other stakeholders to train them in their science and provide nutrition education. Apart from this, ICAR-CCARI also has the technology to prepare Vermicelli from Ragi and Jowar.
The composition of rice vermicelli is different from the four varieties of vermicelli made by the institute.
Ragi is high in iron and calcium, jackfruit is high in potassium, jowar is low in glycemic index and banana contains protein.
Although there have been attempts to make jowar and ragi vermicelli in other parts of the country and banana flour vermicelli in some parts of Kerala, jackfruit vermicelli has not yet been attempted elsewhere.
“Usually, people in Goa use jackfruit in saline solution, but it is not advisable to do so due to the high salt content. Vermicelli can be made by making powder by drying the tubers of raw jackfruit. As a result, we have value added crop production. Talolikar said.
Apart from regular vermicelli sweets like kheer or siviyan, jackfruit vermicelli can also be used to make upma, while banana vermicelli can be used to make pudding, bun batter and pancakes.
“Nowadays, people are highly diet conscious and at times, some people are advised gluten-free diet by doctors. These items can be a replacement for those following such a diet,” said Sunetra Talolikar, subject matter specialist (home science) at ICAR-CCARI.
Apart from regular vermicelli sweets like kheer or siviyan, jackfruit vermicelli can also be used to make upma, while banana vermicelli can be used to make pudding, bun batter and pancakes.
The technology has been popularized by the institute among farmers, rural women and other stakeholders to train them in their science and provide nutrition education. Apart from this, ICAR-CCARI also has the technology to prepare Vermicelli from Ragi and Jowar.
The composition of rice vermicelli is different from the four varieties of vermicelli made by the institute.
Ragi is high in iron and calcium, jackfruit is high in potassium, jowar is low in glycemic index and banana contains protein.
Although there have been attempts to make jowar and ragi vermicelli in other parts of the country and banana flour vermicelli in some parts of Kerala, jackfruit vermicelli has not yet been attempted elsewhere.
“Usually, people in Goa use jackfruit in saline solution, but it is not advisable to do so due to the high salt content. Vermicelli can be made by making powder by drying the tubers of raw jackfruit. As a result, we have value added crop production. Talolikar said.
Apart from regular vermicelli sweets like kheer or siviyan, jackfruit vermicelli can also be used to make upma, while banana vermicelli can be used to make pudding, bun batter and pancakes.