Development of partially defatted soy flour and dhal

Defatted soy flour is a common form in which soybeans can be incorporated in various indigenous food preparations. The procedure for defatting soy dhal and flour has been standardized in the present investigation. Soy flour was soaked in petroleum ether and chloroform:methanol (1:15) for 12 h. For extraction of fat from soy dhal, hexane and petroleum ether (1:15) were used. In addition, soy dhal was subjected to processing treatments such as pressing, steaming and soaking. The decrease in fat content was significantly (P<0.05) higher when soy flour was treated with petroleum ether. Soaking soy dhal in hexane (24 h) followed by shaking for 4 h resulted in maximum reduction in fat content of soy dhal. Processing treatments significantly decreased the fat content by 27.52–47.39% compared to the control.