The next time you tuck into the pasta on your breakfast table, you could be savouring cassava or sweet potato in a different form. The lowly tubers, which have all but dropped off the common man’s menu, are about to go upmarket, thanks to the efforts of a team of scientists at the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) here.

The scientists have developed a range of innovative products, qualifying them for the ICAR award for interdisciplinary team research in agricultural and allied sciences. These include functional foods and modified starch products based on tubers.

“Despite the importance of cassava, sweet potato and yams as starch- rich crops, their food value has been diminishing largely due to urbanisation, free trade, changing food habits, and the availability of easy-to-cook and ready-to-use products,” says Dr. G.Padmaja, Head, Crop Utilisation who heads the team.

The scientists have developed several nutritionally-fortified pasta products from sweet potato.

“These can be considered for inclusion in the noonmeal programme for schoolchildren in the tribal and malnourished regions in the country,” says Dr. Padmaja. The team has also come up with an array of low glycaemic health food products based on cassava and sweet potato. Other products include gluten-free pasta made from cassava and quick cooking, dehydrated tubers for the export market.

Simultaneously, the researchers have also developed cassava starch- based superabsorbent polymers that find use in personal care products and incontinence pads as well as in agriculture, and superporous hydrogels for medical application.

The innovative products developed by CTCRI are expected to provide market options for small-scale units that will receive handholding support from the Techno Incubation Centre to be inaugurated at CTCRI on July 31.