One popular snack in India is “sev,” a deep-fat fried snack made from Bengal Gram flour (Besan) and other ingredients such as salt, spices and sodium bicarbonate to give it a crispy texture. Bengal gram (BG), also known as “Chana,” is a type of bean widely consumed in India. (Verma et al., 2023) Among convenience foods, a major share of market belongs to the category of deep-fried snacks. The origin of most of these products can be traced to the traditional practices of better preservation techniques for which, fried foods naturally became a choice due to their shelf stability. Snacks contribute an important part of many consumers for fulfilling their daily nutrient and calorie intake. (Bagmare and Swami, 2024).
      
These foods are generally refined, rich in protein, fat, carbohydrates and energy, but lacking in dietary fibre and micronutrients. Therefore, nutritional enrichment of these food products can be advantageous to use them as a carrier of nutrients due to their simple manufacturing process, better shelf life, high acceptability and consumption. (Lende et al., 2022) Ready-to-eat varieties of sev, including flavored sev are available in Indian stores. It is eaten as a standalone snack as well as a topping on dishes like Bhelpuri and Sev puri. This popular snack being tasty and tempting is simultaneously full of fats as it is deep fried (Patel et al., 2019).
      
Soya flour, both full fat and defatted has been used as ingredients in the preparation of high protein snacks. Soya snacks could be prepared with full fat soya flour up to the level of 13.5% substitution. Soya proteins have been accepted in many applications because they provide desirable functionalities in fabricated foods at lower cost. Defatted soya flour contains about 50-54% good quality protein and can be used as an ingredient in various types of food (Senthil et al., 2002).
      
Soybean contains phytochemicals namely iso-flavones which helps in reduction of cholesterol thus reducing heart diseases and regulation of menopause. The regular consumption of soybean prevents certain diseases namely diabetes, atherosclerosis and cancer (Pandey and Sangwan, 2020).
      
Buckwheat is an excellent source of protein, containing all eight essential amino acids. This makes it a good choice for vegetarians and vegans who may struggle to get enough protein from other plant-based sources. Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, making it a safe and nutritious option for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Buckwheat is a good source of dietary fibre, which can help to promote digestive health and may reduce the risk of heart disease. (Sharma and Minhas, 2023) Buckwheat varieties have levels of protein higher than wheat, rice, millet and maize but lower than oats (Breslauer et al., 2023).
      
Mushroom is a nutritious and palatable food. It is low in calories, fats and high in vegetable proteins as well as vitamins and minerals. The protein content of the fresh mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) is 2-3% while it varies from 32 to 42% on dry weight basis. Mushroom protein is intermediate in quality between vegetables and animal proteins and the supplementary value of mushroom protein in vegetarian diet is of considerable significance. Kumar et al., (2019) studied the process optimization and characterization of ‘sev’ with the incorporation of mushroom powder developed pasta enriched with mushroom powder while Bahri (2016) developed herbal seasoning with the addition of mushroom powder.

The raw materials used for the preparation of multigrain sev including soybean, Bengal gram, buckwheat, mushroom powder and spices (cumin, asafoetida, chilli powder and turmeric) were procured from the local market in Pune, India. The study was conducted in the Department of Food Process and Product Technology, School of Food Technology, MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune.
 
Formulation of multigrain sev
 
Incorporation of soya flour in food product development has been explored by several researchers. The formulation of various combination of composite flours are shown in Table 1. Multigrain sev blended with mushroom powder was prepared by process given by (Lende et al., 2022) with slight modifications. The detailed process flow sheet of multigrain sev preparation is presented in Fig 1.




 
Physical properties
 
The physical properties were evaluated as per standard methods mentioned in the literature (Kulthe  et al., 2016b and 2017). The colour of the product was measured in accordance with CIE L*, a*, b* colour space system (Lab Scan XE Hunter Lab Instruments, Virginia, USA) based on the tristimulus value. The analytical equipment’s included are Digital model of Vernier caliper for thickness, length, Width, an electronic balance with the accuracy of 0.0001g for weight measurements. Texture analysis is done by texturizer TA. XT2i (Agrawal lab Pune).
 
Functional properties
 
Functional properties of flour like water and oil absorption capacity (WAC and OAC) were analyzed using standard methods (Kulthe et al., 2025).

Chemical properties
 
Chemical Analysis includes Moisture, Ash, Fat, Crude fibre, Carbohydrates and Protein were estimated by standard methods (AOAC, 2005). Mineral contents such as calcium, iron and potassium were analyzed by method described by (Kulthe et al., 2016a). The energy value was estimated using the sum of the product of respective physiological fuel values and contents of protein, carbohydrate and fat. It was expressed in Kcal/ 100 g (Kulthe et al., 2018).
 
Sensory evaluation
 
Samples were subjected to organoleptic testing before and after the storage. Organoleptic analysis was carried out in order to determine the various factors like overall acceptability, taste, flavour, colour, aroma etc. and their changes with the number of storage days and parameters. Sensory attributes including appearance, flavour, texture, taste and overall acceptability of the product were evaluated by 9-point Hedonic Rating Test as recommended by Ranganna (1986).
 
Statistical analysis
 
Statistical analysis the data obtained was analyzed statistically to determine statistical significance of treatments. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used to test the significance of results as per the method of Panse and Sukhatme (1967). The experiments were conducted in quadruplicate and the mean values are reported.

The research was conducted to study the quality parameter of multigrain sev by physico-chemical properties, sensory parameters. The raw materials used were analyzed for their functional properties.
 
Soaking treatment given to the raw material
 
The soaking of raw materials was done as per the treatments shown in Table 2. A 200 g sample of buckwheat was cleaned, weighed and soaked in 200 mL of distilled water for 6, 12 and 18 hours, following the method described by Mishra and Jain (2019). According to Sarvani et al., (2020), the horse gram seeds were soaked in distilled water at a 1:5 (w/v) ratio, ensuring complete immersion and left to stand overnight. The soaked seeds were then air- dried and ground into flour. For the soaking treatment of soybeans, black soybean grains were manually cleaned and soaked in distilled water at a 1:5 (w/v) ratio for 12 and 24 hours, as described by Chauhan et al., (2022). Water was used in a 1:2.5 to 1:4 ratio depending on the grain’s hardness and soaking capacity. Soaking was done at room temperature (~25^oC).


 
Drying process
 
After soaking, the grains were drained and lightly patted to remove surface moisture. They were then spread uniformly on trays and dried in a cabinet dryer at 60^oC for 4 hours. This ensured the reduction of moisture to a safe level for grinding, while retaining nutritional quality. Jadhav et al., (2010) utilized a solar cabinet dryer for the drying of green peas, wherein the drying conditions were maintained within the range of 40-60^oC for air temperature, 40-50% for relative humidity and 0.9-1.0 m/s for air velocity.
 
Flour preparation
 
Dried grains were milled using a laboratory-grade grinder to obtain a fine flour. The flours were sieved through 80-mesh sieve to ensure uniform particle size (Kulthe et al., 2018). The individual flours were stored in air-tight containers under dry, ambient conditions until further use.
 
Functional properties of raw materials used in multigrain sev blended with mushroom powder
 
Table 3 depicts the functional properties of different flours used for preparation composite flour.
      
Significant measures of flour functioning in snack formulations are the Water Absorption Capacity (WAC) and Oil Absorption Capacity (OAC). The maximum WAC (2.76 ± 0.37 g/g) and OAC (1.85±0.20 g/g) were found in soy flour because of its high protein and fiber content, which improves water and oil retention. Chickpea and mushroom powder both had high WAC, which helped to retain moisture. Buckwheat’s significance in taste absorption was supported by its high OAC and lowest WAC. In the production of multigrain snacks, these parameters support the blending of flours to enhance texture, mouthfeel and overall product quality. The WHC and OHC of the samples determined by using the methods suggested by Kakar et al., (2022) and Kulthe et al., (2025).


 
Sensory evaluation
 
The sensory characteristics of multigrain sev samples were evaluated using a 9-point hedonic scale and the results are presented in Table 4. Sensory evaluation revealed significant differences among the samples with varying levels of mushroom powder. SMS3 received the highest scores across all sensory attributes, including appearance (8.0), texture (8.4), taste (8.4) and overall acceptability (8.4), indicating strong consumer preference. This could be attributed to the optimal balance between the flours and 15% mushroom powder, which enhanced both flavor and mouthfeel. The control also performed well, particularly in appearance and texture, but had slightly lower overall acceptability (7.7), possibly due to the absence of functional ingredients like mushroom powder. Thus, moderate inclusion of mushroom powder, as in SMS3, proved most effective in improving both nutritional profile and sensory acceptance. The comparative sensory attributes of the developed samples are presented in Fig 2.




 
Nutritional analysis
 
The effect of flour formulation on the nutritional profile especially the energy value and proximate composition of multigrain sev is shown in Table 5. The proximate analysis shows that increasing mushroom powder enhanced the nutritional quality of the samples. SMS 3, with 15% mushroom powder, balanced high protein (24.88±0.22 g), fat (30.26± 0.25 g) and dietary fibre (15.28±0.18 g) while maintaining good sensory attributes. Protein, fat, ash and fibre increased gradually from SMS1 to SMS3, while carbohydrate and energy values decreased slightly, reflecting the nutritional profile of mushroom powder. Although Sample SMS3 had the highest nutrients, it scored lower in sensory evaluation. The control had the highest energy and carbohydrates but was lower in protein and fibre, confirming the benefits of mushroom enrichment. Overall, SMS3 provided the best nutritional enhancement without compromising acceptability, making it the preferred formulation.

The present study successfully developed a nutritionally enhanced multigrain sev by incorporating soy flour and mushroom powder, targeting both improved health benefits and sensory appeal. Among the different formulations, Sample SMS3 (containing 15% mushroom powder and 30% soy flour) exhibited the most favorable results in terms of sensory attributes, functional properties and nutritional composition. It achieved high scores for taste, texture and overall acceptability, while also demonstrating significant improvements in protein and dietary fiber content compared to the control. The study highlights the potential of using underutilized ingredients such as mushroom powder and soy flour in traditional snack formulations to create value-added, functional products suitable for health-conscious consumers. Moderate incorporation levels are key to balancing nutritional enhancement with consumer acceptability. This standardized formulation can serve as a promising alternative to conventional fried snacks in the growing market for functional foods.

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.