EFFECT OF FAT AND EMULSIFIERS ON TEXTURE OF CHIROTI - AN INDIAN TRADITIONAL SWEETMEAT

Chiroti is an Indian traditional product prepared from wheat semolina (soji) or refined wheat flour (maida) or a combination of the two. The rheological characteristics of the doughs prepared with soji, maida o r blend of these two, which are suitable for chiroti preparation, were studied. The proportions of water and fat required during dough prepa ration were suitably adjusted depending on the type of raw material. T he dough with maida required 56.6% water and 10% fat as against 53.3% and 6.6% for the blend. Soji took only 50% water and 2% fat The study showed that the dough with optimum gluten development having consisten cies of 560, 540 and 580 BU for soji, maida and the blend, respectivel y, were suitable for chiroti preparation. Lecithin at 0.5% level had b eneficial effect and functioned as a dough fat replacer, sparing about 20% of the layering fat without affecting the quality of the product.