Effect of replacing coconut milk with almond milk in spicy coconut gravy on its sensorial, nutritional and physical properties

Spicy coconut gravy or lemak cili api is well known in Malaysia for its hot taste, which is due to the present of bird's eye chilies as one of the ingredients. Coconut milk is added to the dish to give creamy taste and texture. However, to avoid the risk of getting diseases caused by high cholesterol, replacement of coconut milk in lemak cili api is crucial. This study aims to investigate the effect of replacing coconut milk with almond milk in spicy coconut gravy on its sensorial, nutritional and physical properties. This study covers product concept testing, prototype development such as ingredients for recipe formulation, production of paste, a sensory evaluation using descriptive and effective tests, as well as the determination of nutritional composition and physical properties. The results of the present study revealed that the newly formulated almond milk-based lemak cili api gravy contains 29.3% lower cholesterol than the commercially available coconut milk-based lemak cili api. In addition, sensory evaluation showed 68% of respondents preferred the newly formulated almond milk-based lemak cili api gravy if compared to the commercialised coconut milk-based lemak cili api. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.