Physico‐Chemical Characteristics, Sensory Properties and Microbial Quality of Date Fruit Added <i>Rasomalai</i> Prepared From Buffalo's Milk

<i>Rasomalai</i> is an indigenous popular dessert made from <i>chhana</i> (acid curd) balls, which are cooked in concentrated sugar syrup, and further soaked in sweetened condensed milk or <i>malai</i> (volume of milk reduced to about 50% of the original). Milk and dairy products do not contain dietary fiber. In the present study, incorporation of dietary fibers was carried out by the addition of 0%, 3%, 6%, and 9% of dates <i>(Phoenix dactylifera</i>) into <i>rasomalai</i> prepared from buffalo's milk. The main goal of the present study was to assess the physico-chemical and sensory characteristics and microbiological quality of dates added buffalo milk <i>rasomalai</i>. The acidity of all the <i>rasomalai</i> types was ranging from 0.11% to 0.13%, and pH ranged from 6.08 to 6.66. We observed a linear increase in the total dietary fiber content of the <i>rasomalai</i> with the increase in the level of added dates, which ranged from 3.44% in the 3% dates to 13.38% in the 9% dates added <i>rasomalai</i>. The microbial quality was found statistically similar in all four groups of <i>rasomalai</i>. It was observed that the addition of date fruit intensified red and yellow hues in <i>rasomalai</i> while diminished its overall lightness. Notably, in the sensory evaluation, based on a 9-point Hedonic Scale, the overall appearance score ranged from 6.33 to 8.0 in the prepared <i>rasomalai</i>; however, the highest score for both appearance (8.0) and taste/flavor (8.68) was recorded for the 3% dates added sample. These findings open doors for the development of healthier, more appealing <i>rasomalai</i> variants that cater to both the palate and nutritional well-being.