author(s)
Manish Kumar, Bhawana and Vandana Arya

abstract
The grains of pearl millet after treatments viz. hot water blanching and dry heating were milled into flour and then stored in polyethylene bags at prevailing room temperature (32±3 oC) and refrigerated condition (4-7 oC) for 35 days. Lipids in the pearl millet showed a rapid hydrolytic decomposition during storage. The magnitude of such degradation was influenced significantly by the nature of the storage condition, the temperature and heat treatment given to the seeds. The flour was analyzed periodically (0, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days) for keeping quality by chemical methods. The hydrolytic breakdown of lipids was significantly low (about 2-3 folds) in the meals stored at refrigerated condition. The dry heating of seeds was found to be most effective in minimizing the undesirable changes in lipids of the meal as it decreased the production of peroxides and free fatty acids during storage. Sensory evaluation was also done of the chapattis made from the flour of differentially treated grains. The chapatti of control (untreated) showed acceptable flavor and taste only upto 7 days whereas chapatti prepared from the blanched and dry heated seeds exhibited acceptability more than a week.