The purpose of this research was to use and analyze the influence of oleogel as a frying medium for developing low fat fried Indian traditional snack (Mathri). As consumer demand for fried foods grows, so does consumer concern about their health, as they are responsible for a variety of health disorders. Carnauba wax and soybean oil were used to produce oleogel in three different concentrations (5, 10 and 15%) which were further examined and used as frying medium. The oleogel effect on the quality attributes of snack were also investigated and compared with the soybean refined oil in this study. It was observed that Mathri fried in oleogel had better moisture retention, color, texture and a lower oil uptake than the Mathri fried in soybean oil. Moisture content in CRW samples ranged from 4 to 5%, but rose to 8.98% in the case of oil samples. Breaking strength of mathri fried in oil was 3382.1 g, which was more than the breaking strength of mathri fried in oleogel, which were 1974.8 g (5% CRW) and 1092.7 g (10% CRW) and 3168.1 g (15% CRW). Oleogel fried mathri absorbed 27.7%, 22% and 19.3% less oil than conventionally fried ones. The study shows that mathri with reduced fat and calorie content can be developed to suit the demand among health-conscious consumers for low fatty foods.
