Enhancement of technofunctional properties of chickpea flour through composite blending with teff and proso millet

The increasing demand for nutritionally rich and gluten‐free foods has intensified research interest in underutilized cereals and legumes as an alternative to conventional wheat‐based flours. The study aims to investigate the potential of developing composite flours from proso millet ( Panicum miliaceum ), teff ( Eragrostis tef ), and chickpea ( Cicer arietinum ) using completely randomized design (CRD). The developed composite flours showed significantly higher protein content of 11.26%–17.13%, fiber content of 3.09%–7.86%, and total ash content of 1.73%–2.56% as compared to the individual flours. The phenolic and flavonoid content ranged from 138.02 to 165.63 GAEmg/100 g and 1.81 to 2.71 mgQE/100 g, respectively. Addition of proso millet and teff flour to chickpea flour significantly ( p ˂ 0.05) increased the functional properties and pasting profile of the developed flour. Pasting analysis demonstrated that the blends exhibited reduced peak and final viscosities compared to the individual flours, suggesting suitability for diverse food product applications. FTIR analysis confirmed that blending preserved the major functional groups of the composite flour, with only minor variations in band intensity, indicating structural rearrangements in starch, proteins, and hydrogen bonding without significant chemical modification. The composite flour blends showed promising functional and nutritional attributes, indicating their potential as value‐added ingredients in the formulation of gluten‐free baked goods and extruded food products.