Chennai, India - The Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in Coimbatore, India have concluded that Saskatchewan grown green lentils can be used in traditional Indian cuisine, and would be accepted by Indian consumers.
The research results were presented at a pulse trade meeting in Chennai, India on March 7, 2011 as a part of a trade mission organized by Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP). The mission, which will take place over India for the next 15 days, includes over 30 participants from the Saskatchewan pulse industry and over 50 participants from multi-sector industries in Saskatchewan.
A number of delegates from TNAU University, including TNAU Vice Chancellor, Dr. Boopathy, were at the meeting to present results from the green lentil research project. The $264,000 project, which was funded by SPG, was set up to develop and test market traditional southern Indian foods using Saskatchewan grown dehulled green lentils. Lead researchers Dr. Pushpa and Dr. Varadharaju did a comparative analysis of the physical, chemical, and nutritional characteristics of native pulses compared to Saskatchewan grown green lentil in order to develop green lentil based food products. The TNAU researchers have expressed complete satisfaction with green lentil as suitable food ingredient that can be used to supplement pigeon pea in several Indian foods.
"About 30 products were developed, and 13 products were advanced to further development," reported Dr. Pushpa. "Researchers found that the cooking time of green lentil was substantially lower than other Indian pulses, and the nutritional composition of Saskatchewan lentils contains selenium, a micronutrient not found in Indian pulses." Dr. Pushpa also noted that some people preferred the green lentil based food products over products developed using native pulses.
"The project, set up by SPG and the University of Saskatchewan estimated that green lentils could capture up to 20 per cent of the imported pigeon pea market (or 200,000 tonnes annually) for a potential annual market impact of $160 million if research and development showed that green lentils could supplement pigeon pea in Indian cuisine," said Dr. Kofi Agblor. "TNAU has proven this so we need to capture this market."
At the pulse trade meeting the TNAU Vice Chancellor formally released the products and recipe booklets and attendees were given sample packages containing of a number of traditional Indian food products using Saskatchewan grown green lentil.
The next step will be to expand the use of green lentil in foods from other regions of India, and develop a strategic plan to promote the consumption of Saskatchewan grown green lentils in India.
Source: Saskatchewan Pulse Growers