Characterization of bhatooru, a traditional fermented food of Himachal Pradesh: microbiological and biochemical aspects

A number of traditional fermented products are prepared and consumed in Himachal and the types of traditional fermented products of Himachal are unique and different from other areas. Bhatooru is an indigenous leavened bread or roti and constitutes the staple diet of rural population of Himachal. The microbiological analysis of the inoculums (malera) revealed that it composed of a consortium of microorganisms. Population of Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc and Saccharomyces cerevisiae increased from 4.77 to 8.0 log cfu/g of dry matter in 10 h of fermentation. The amount of total proteins increased from 13.6 to 18.4 % (w/w). The total sugars during fermentation decreased from 74.1 to 50.1 % (w/w) on dry weight basis. However, the reducing sugar level of the fermenting samples increased significantly from 7.8 to 16.5 mg/g dry matter in the first 4 h and thereafter, it gradually decreased to 10.0 mg/g dry matter. Similarly starch content decreased from 70.2 to 48.3 % (w/w) on dry weight basis by 10 h of fermentation. In fermented samples protease activity increased from 0.48 U/g dry matter to 11.5 U/g in 6 h and then decreased to 3.21 U/g on dry weight basis at 10 h. Amylase activity initially increased from 65.0 to 79.4 U to 6 h and then declined to 69.9 U/g of dry matter. Fermentation in bhatooru significantly enhanced the B vitamin levels especially thiamine, riboflavin and nicotinic acid and essential amino acids viz methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, lysine and leucine.