The moisture content of native starch was adjusted to the desired moisture content (25%) by soaking 200 g of starch in 600 mL of water overnight at 4 °C. The excess water in equilibrated slurry was drawn out by vacuum suction to get a starch cake. The starch cake was air-dried to allow the moisture content to drop to the desired level. Starch samples in 200 mL screw-capped bottles were heated at 100 °C for 16 h. After HMT, the starches were dried overnight at 40 °C. Untreated starch was used as a control.
2.5. Granule morphology