Studies on the preparation, packaging and analysis of ground spice mixes III: Chana Masala and Meat Masala

Thirty samples of Chana Masala and thirty five samples of Meat Masala of va rious brands were collected from different markets of North India and evalu ated for their chemical composition. Chana Masala and Meat Masala varied wi dely in their chemical composition. Chana Masala had moisture, 4.00-12.00; total ash, 6.88-34.88; acid insoluble ash, 0.97-2.43; common salt, 3.7-27.8 1; ether extractives, 5.32-16.27; volatiles, 0.06-0.60; alcohol solubles,14 .05-32.26 and water solubles, 24.56-58.98%. Meat Masala had moisture, 5.10- 9.20; total ash, 6.27-9.75; add insoluble ash, 0.26-1.07; common salt, nil; ether extractives, 5.40-18.79; volatiles, 0.04-1.32; alcohol solubles, 11. 69-25.10 and water solubles, 17.46-36.74%. Chana Masala contained higher le vels of water solubles and total ash because of the common salt used in Its preparation. Frequency distribution histograms have been plotted and quali ty standards for Chana Masala and Meat Masala have been proposed. The ERH o f Chana Masala (initial moisture 8.9%) and Meat Masala (initial moisture 7. 8%) were found to be 46.3% and 50.6%, respectively.