WHAT IS IT: Paan is the Hindi word for Betel, which is a connotation of Chuna (slaked lime), Katha(Catachu), Supari (Betel-nut), cloves or cardamom in the very basic form, all wrapped in a leaf of a paan creeper tree in the shape of a cone with a lid and served as a tongue tickler to most people before or after a meal. In terms of variety, people tend to add tobacco, rose petal reduction, chocolate, strawberry syrup or anything they feel like to paan.
ORIGIN: The origin of paan, with regards to time and place, is unclear to anyone – descriptions of paan have been present since 5000 B.C. with Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva both having been known to consume it. Some old scripts claim the origin to be somewhere in Malyasia, but what’s clear to the world is that Ibn batutta (Moroccan traveler), Niccolao Mannuci (Italian traveler), and Abdur Rezzak (Diplomat of Samarkand in 15th century) have had their fair share with this delightful paan. The person who got this delicacy in focus was Noorjehan, the mother of King Shahjahan who built the Taj-Mahal; she not only used to savour the taste of paan but even consumed it to keep her lips naturally red. Since then it has been widely used in India, Pakistan, Burma, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia & Bangladesh.
HEALTH BENEFITS: This leaf acts as a major health benefactor in curing itches, coughs, pain, sore throats, common cold and has even been known for couple of centuries as a fine graded aphrodisiac, although excessive consumption can result in oral cancer and tooth decay. It is consumed widely in weddings or at anytime of the day as a mouth freshener. In fact, paan has been used as an Amuse-Bouche even before the French made it to that word!
VARIETY: There are now 40 odd varieties of betel leaf known in the world, of which the most popular ones are Maghai from Bihar,Kalkatta from West Bengal,Saufiya and Banarasi from Uttar-Pradesh. People across the Indian subcontinent are greeted with this paan and it can be consumed at just about anytime of the day. The modern time experimentation of food has taken paan to great heights with varieties like Ghundi, Coffee, Chocolate, Bouncer, Pepsi as well as fruit based paans.
Unless you have been under the rock or have some allergy to it there’s no chance you would not have tasted one. So do yourself a favour and have one today.
OMG it’s so cray but I had a sense of deja-vu as I read this…like I’ve seen this all before somewhere…hmmmm. SO WEIRD!
also I must admit I’m curious what ladies paan, V.V.I.P paan and magic paan are comprised of :p
You’d have to come try them in India 🙂
Some day…
🙂
Lol on your blog ><
:p
Mahoba in U.P.has the distinction of producing Paan since ages. The famous Desi….Common. ….leaf is the speciality of this region.Apart from being very crisp is is sweet unlike a tinge in the Bengali Leaf. It is consumed by subjecting the leaf to heat which not only changes the green leaf into pale yellow but also enables the leaf to melt in the mouth without chewing & this is quality of Benarassee Paan. Like the post.
Thankyou for the information 🙂
Gosh! Should I meet you when I come on my culinary journey to India? It would be best to take your advice and suggestions when I go to the North of India perhaps?
I wanna be the Indian Street Food Explorer when I go on this destination on my wishlist.
You have mentioned that it would be Rs. 2000 or even Rs. 1000 at some restaurants where your pictures show a quite decent meal, That is good price!
Salam sister, what comes on my blog is mostly finer stuff but I personally have been a golf digger for more than a decade now.. Insha Allah wherever you come to India, you name any major city (not specifically north) and I should be able to lead you to the right culinary spot 🙂
Wow cool tten, Ill have you in mind for later … im not sure when I will do this . But yes. InshaAllah
sure, insha allah 🙂
This thing called paan.. rhere is a halal version to it. Ive tried it in Chennai.it is calledsweet beedah . Was fun but I don’t fancy it.
This is completely halal anyways sister 🙂
Isit?? I heard it makes you high if you have it. I was warned. The mouthvecomes red from d beetke leaf. It’s fun yeah.
It gives you a high if you consume it with tobacco , a lot of people do that.. Yeah it gives a peculiar color
Have you rated any 5 star hotels yet. Please give me links. I need reviews on indian fine dining
There’s a section on my blog drop down by name of 5 star .. Please check that, I’m on phone won’t see the links here