Nutritionally improved cookies from whole wheat flour enriched with processed tamarind seed flour

Tamarind seed, a by-product of the tamarind pulp industry, is a good source of protein with potential for industrial use. The aim of this study was to determine the functional properties of whole wheat and processed tamarind seed (pressure-cooked, oven-roasted and microwave-roasted) and further determine the qualities of cookies from the composite flours. Cooked tamarind seed flour showed the highest water absorption capacity (520%) compared with other flours (118%–276%). Processed tamarind flours had higher total phenolic contents (1.72–2.71 mg GAE/g) compared with the whole wheat flour (1.26 mg GAE/g). Cookies enriched with roasted tamarind showed higher antioxidant activities and hardness than the control wheat cookies. The protein content (15.52%–17.25%) of enriched cookies was significantly higher than that of the whole wheat cookies (14.28%). Results from this study have shown the possibility of enhancing the value of tamarind seed by exploring the processed seeds in cookie enrichment. Practical applications: This paper describes the possibility of enhancing the value of tamarind seed beyond the current level of usage by means of traditional processing methods to reduce antinutrients in the seed and further enriching wheat cookies with the processed flours. The results demonstrated that cookies with superior nutritional value can be made from whole wheat and processed tamarind seed composite flour. This further provides another avenue for increased utilization of the seed flour, which can be used at household levels and industrially.