Journal of Grain Processing and Storage | July-December, 2015 | Vol 2 | Issue 2 | Pages 24-28 © 2015 Jakraya Publications (P) Ltd JOURNAL OF GRAIN PROCESSING AND STORAGE Journal homepage: www.jakraya.com/journal/jgps ORIGINAL ARTICLE Nutritional and Functional Characterization of Peanut Okara (Defatted Peanut) Flour Cookies Trushal Dharsenda 1 , Mukesh Dabhi 1 , M. Jethva 1 and M. Kapopara 2 1 Department of Processing and Food Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, 2 Bakery School, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh-362001, Gujarat, India. *Corresponding Author: Mukesh Dabhi Email: mndabhi@hau.in Received: 03/12/2015 Revised: 24/12/2015 Accepted: 29/12/2015 Abstract Peanut is the most important oil seed in the world, and rapidly becoming a valuable source of plant protein. The oil can be removed from peanut, the protein could be concentrated from residual cakes and this cake was known as peanut okara. Peanut okara was used for the preparation of nutritional protein rich cookies. In this study the mixing ratios of refined wheat flour and peanut okara flour were 100:00 (Control), 90:10 (Treatment T1), 80:20 (Treatment T2), 70:30 (Treatment T3), 60:40 (Treatment T4), 50:50 (Treatment T5) respectively. The nutritional characteristics in terms of moisture content, protein, total ash, fat content and carbohydrates of cookies were increase with increases peanut okara flour with refined wheat flour. The functional properties i.e. Water Absorption Index and Water Solubility Index of cookies were increase with increases proportion of peanut okara flour. Cookies versatility, long shelf life, availability in numerous shapes and sizes, high digestibility, good nutrition, and relatively low cost are attractive to the consumer. Keywords: Cookies, Nutritional Characteristics, Functional Characteristics, Peanut Okara, Defatted Peanut. 1. Introduction Food crops have occupied an important place in human nutrition as they remain the major sources of proteins for a large proportion of the world population, particularly, in the developing countries (Singh and Singh, 1991a). Protein malnutrition is a serious problem in India due to cereal based dietary pattern. Therefore, various preparations based on cereal-pulse combination are of paramount importance to improve the protein quality of Indian diet. Peanut is a species in the legume family Fabaceae, native to South America, Mexico and Central America (Gibbon and Pain, 1985). Groundnuts have been known to man as an important food crop for many centuries. The groundnut is a main crop in Saurastra region in Gujarat. The groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the cheapest sources of protein. Peanut are probably the most important oil- bearing seed in the world, and rapidly becoming a valuable source of plant protein. The basic composition of peanut per 100g of nuts is Water 1.55g, Carbohydrates 21.51g, Fiber 8.0g, Lipids (Fats) 49.66 g, Proteins 23.68g, Energy (Total Calories) 244kJ (585 kcal), Vitamines (0.77g) and Minerals (0.018g) (Settaluri et al., 2012). Most of the peanut utilised domestically appear in the retail market places are raw nuts, salted nuts, roasted nuts etc. Oil extracted from peanut is not only more stable but also contains high oleic/linoleic acid. Nutritionally, high linoleic acid is desirable as it is an essential fatty acid and produces a hypocholesterolemic effects. Generally, the peanut oil contains around 10 percent palmitic acid and a total of around 80 percent of oleic and linoleic acids. These three fatty acids accounts for approximately 90 percent of the total fatty acids content in the peanut oil. Groundnut contains fat and protein which helps to prepare protein rich cookies. Cookies are ideal for nutrient availability, palatability, compactness and convenience. They differ from other bakery products like bread and cakes because of having low moisture content, comparatively free from microbial spoilage and long shelf life of the product. Previous research has shown that peanut seeds are a potential source of food-grade protein for the fortification of food products. Such protein could be concentrated from residual cakes and flours through industrially applicable techniques (Kim et al., 1992; Quinn and Beuchat, 1975; Rhee et al., 1973; Yadav et al., 2012). The amino acid profile of peanut residual flours showed that it could be an ingredient for protein fortification (Yu and Goktepe, 2007). Peanut protein