• All ingredients, including flavour enhancers, emulsifiers, fats, seeds, spices, condiments, natural colourants, nut powders, preservatives, starch, and functional agents, were sourced and pre-processed.
• Functional ingredients like cumin, dry coconut, hing, dried methi, fennel, coriander, cardamom, starch, and fermented powders were chosen for their traditional and flavour-enhancing roles.
• Nuts and seeds were dry roasted at low flame to remove anti-nutritional factors and to enhance aroma before blending.

Three distinct traditional noodle flavour variants were formulated:

1. Variant 1 – Sheer Halwa Flavour: A sweet, aromatic blend replicating the indulgence of traditional Sheera Halwa.
2. Variant 2 – Undhiyo Masala Flavour: A savoury and spiced formulation designed to mimic the authentic taste of Undhiyo.
3. Variant 3 – Fermented Flavour: Inspired by dhokla, handvo, and khaman, this variant introduces a mild sourness to balance the flavour profile.

• The dry functional ingredients were powdered using a high-speed blender or food processor.
• Fat powders were incorporated in the final blending stage to prevent clumping. Anti-caking agents were added to maintain flowability.
• The mixture was uniformly blended using a ribbon or paddle-type spice blender, and dehydrated ensuring homogeneous distribution of all ingredients.
• Finally, the blended mixture was sieved to achieve uniform particle size and textural consistency suitable for noodle flavour integration.

At a small-scale level, key challenges encountered include maintaining uniform blending, particle size control, and clump prevention due to varying moisture content and oil release from roasted nuts and seeds.

Optimization was achieved by:

• Adjusting roasting temperature and duration to balance flavour development and fat stability.
• Sequential blending to control heat build-up and ingredient interaction.
• Calibrating sieve mesh size to ensure consistent particle size and texture uniformity.
• Laboratory-scale sensory evaluation was conducted to assess aroma, taste, texture compatibility, and overall acceptability, enabling refinement of flavour balance and ingredient proportions.

Each variant was subjected to physicochemical and functional characterization, including:

• Particle size analysis
• Moisture content
• Total Plate Count (TPC)

Flowability and bulk density