Bambara groundnut seed is an indigenous legume with good protein quality. However, the cooking time (3 h) has contributed to its under-utilisation. In this study, the effects of pre-soaking bambara groundnut seeds with or without dehulling (whole and dehulled), followed by infrared heating (130 °C, 0, 5, 10 and 15 min) on their cooking characteristics were studied. As infrared heating time increases (0, 5, 10 and 15 min), soluble pectin increased and cell wall separation was enhanced in the grains. Water absorption during soaking and cooking (whole and dehulled) were higher in infrared heated samples compared to untreated. The rate of water absorption during cooking (95 °C) was higher in pre-soaked whole and dehulled bambara groundnut after infrared heating treatment for 15 min compared to untreated seeds. Further, the cooking times of untreated whole (162 min) and dehulled (41 min) was reduced to about 60 min and 30 min respectively after infrared heating of pre-soaked seeds for 15 min. With or without dehulling, infrared heating especially at 15 min can produce bambara groundnut seeds with short cooking time limiting energy demand in both urban and rural communities in Africa.

班巴拉花生种子是一种本土豆类，具有良好的蛋白质品质。但是，烹饪时间（3小时）导致其利用率不足。在这项研究中，研究了预先浸泡有或没有脱壳（全壳和脱壳）的班巴拉花生种子，然后进行红外加热（130°C，0、5、10和15分钟）对其烹饪特性的影响。随着红外加热时间的增加（0、5、10和15分钟），可溶性果胶增加，细胞壁的分离增强。与未经处理的样品相比，红外加热的样品在浸泡和蒸煮过程中（整个和去皮）的吸水率更高。与未经处理的种子相比，经过15分钟的红外线加热处理后的预先浸泡的完整和脱壳的巴巴拉花生，在烹饪期间（95°C）的吸水率更高。进一步，红外加热预浸种子15分钟后，未处理的整块（162分钟）和脱壳的（41分钟）的烹饪时间分别减少到大约60分钟和30分钟。无论是否进行脱壳，特别是在15分钟时进行红外加热都可以产生短巴班巴花生种子，且烹饪时间短，从而限制了非洲城市和农村社区的能源需求。