Indigenous Products of the Indian Subcontinent Containing Cereals and Dairy: From Tradition to Commercialization

Background: Traditional cereal based indigenous foods play a vital role in contributing to the livelihoods and diet of the population in the Indian subcontinent. A comprehensive account of these products and their traditional and mechanized production is however lacking. The current review aims to integrate this information in a systematic manner. Methods: The socioeconomic importance, traditional production methods, their mechanization and industrial production in India are documented. Their standards and regulations are depicted and potential research areas are identified. Results: Numerous cereal based milk products are consumed in India and are also becoming increasingly popular in the global market. These traditional products are nutritionally rich, and given proper exposure, are capable of countering global malnutrition problems. Challenges in their shelf life have now been taken care of with the help of novel technologies and these indigenous traditional products seem ready to overcome the international trade barriers. Conclusion: Extensive research on process standardization and optimization has been carried out on cereal based milk products such as kheer, dalia, Payasam and phirni in addition to their variants in the past decade. Novel products with modern technologies mimicking the traditional products have been developed to satisfy the nutritional and medical requirements and even the taste buds of the consumers. Wide scope in research applications still exists and still needs to be explored.