Sweet paan is a popular street food available in India, mostly had after meals. Stepwise photos & full video.
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I have had paan about 2-3 times in my life. The first time I had was when my uncle bought it from his favorite shop in Kumbakonam. The very first time but I just loved it. I was hardly studying 8th or 9th grade.
It was like candy treat to me. Perfectly balanced and nothing was overpowering for a picky eater like me.
About
Paan is a mouth freshener as well as said to help with digestion. It is very common in India. Paan helps with acidity as well so you can see most of the households serve a platter of paan. Within the family or in family get togethers/ functions, they catch up for a chaat over paan.
I myself have seen my grandma, grandpa having paan everyday with just the betel leaves, betel nuts and edible limestone. Yes, simply that is the way it's consumed in everyday basis.
I can write a loads of nostalgia with this, but just sharing the necessary things. In Tamil, we call it vetrilai paaku thamboolam. Edible limestone is called sunnambu. With the mixture of these three, it results our mouth reddish.
Beeda
In Tamil nadu it's widely known as beeda / Sweet beeda. It is available as street food as well as in restaurants. Some restaurants give it as free too (very rarely) Fancy restaurants have live counters. Even weddings serve sweet beeda or have a live counter in buffet.
Ingredients
Betel leaves - There are two varieties, one deep green in colored, one pale green variety. The pale ones are tender and tasty, we always buy those. In this post, I used the one we get here in Singapore, the dark ones.
Betel nut - This is available commercially. Instead of using the whole ones, you can buy flakes or sweetened version available and use it.
Edible limestone / Chunna - This is calcium carbonate (edible) and mostly available as such (white) or flavored and pink colored ones too.
Gulkand - Sweet rose petal jam/ preserve. I love it in paan and it adds lot of flavor and taste to it.
Saunf - Mukhwas works best, I have seen a lot of variants in this, especially Chandan brand in Mustafa here in Singapore. According to me, this is the highlight of beeda.
I used 5 in 1 got from an Indian grocery which is very handy.
Tutti frutti - My favorite ingredient in the paan is tutti frutti. I love tutti frutti in anything but in paan it adds an excellent texture when we bite it.
Other ingredients - Usually sweet paan has combination of desiccated coconut, cardamom, clove, saffron, graced cherry apart from the above ingredients.
I see the paan wala in his cart as some of the ingredients as paste for easy application. Say for example the betel nut, saffron.
Video
Is video more your thing? Here's a quick video.
Varieties
These days, there are various types of paan commercially available in paan carts in the street side in India. Chocolate paan, ladoo paan, swiss pan (gold vark) paan with silver vark and not to forget most recent the viral fire paan.
There are countless version each paanwalah uses their creativity to give your favorite.
Inspiration
Inspired form paan flavor, there are numerous recipes too that have emerged over the period of time. The most famous served in restaurant being paan shot, paan kulfi, paan ice cream, paan milkshake etc.
In South Indian cuisine, betel leaves is also used to treat common cold phlegm. In kashayams, as rasam, vetrilai poondu sadam etc.
Check out my own creation paan soda.
My notes
Though I have made assembling the ingredients, if you want, you can make a mixture of everything for easy preparation.
I have used tooth pick and glazed cherry to secure the triangle shape folded. But you can also use clove for the same.
I wanted to avoid strong flavor but if you want you can use cardamom in the sweet paan.
Related posts
If you are looking for Father's day recipes (Indian) then why don't you try make this as special treat?
Ingredients given below are approximate. Please adjust as needed. Except for chunna and betel nuts, you can use others according to your personal preference.
Recipe card
Sweet paan | Meetha paan
Ingredients
- 6 Betel leaves
- 2 tablespoon Gulkhand
- 2 tablespoon Saunf/ Mukhwas
- 2 tablespoon Desiccated coconut
- ¼ cup tutti frutti
- 2 Dates Mejdool
- 1 teaspoon Edible limestone Edible Calcium carbonate
- 1 teaspoon Betel nut flakes
- 6 Glazed cherries
Instructions
- First, clean and wash betel leaves. After that, pat dry it completely.
- Gather all the ingredients needed.
- To make sweet beeda (paan) take a betel leaf. Cut the stalks as well as the tip if needed.
- Using kitchen scissors cut ¼th in the middle, top portion.
- Apply chunna (edible limestone) just a dash. Do not over do this as it might lead to mouth ulcer.
- Take one end of the cut portion and roll to make a cone.
- The tip of the betel leaves will be there to cover and make a triangle shape to fold and secure later.
- Start with desiccated coconut. This helps absorb moisture leaking while folding, so I add it in the base.
- Add sweet saunf (fennel seeds) say ¼ tsp, followed by gulkand (½ to 1 tsp) ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon of each dates, Tutti frutti, ¼ teaspoon betel nuts flake and finally again top with desiccated coconut.
- Flatten slightly, fold tight by covering the tip of the betel leaves. You should be having a triangle shape now.
- Hold it tight and secure with a glazed cherry, tooth pick running through the middle of the triangle so that it holds it's shape.
- You can do the same with a clove. Repeat to finish and arrange in plate.
Video
Notes
- Adjust the ingredients as required. But take note the edible limestone and betel nuts should be added carefully less.
Stepwise photos
1. First, clean and wash betel leaves. After that, pat dry it completely.
2. Gather all the ingredients needed.
3. To make sweet beeda (paan) take a betel leaf. Cut the stalks as well as the tip if needed.
4. Using kitchen scissors cut ¼th in the middle, top portion.
5. Apply chunna (edible limestone) just a dash. Do not over do this as it might lead to mouth ulcer.
6. Take one end of the cut portion and roll to make a cone.
7. The tip of the betel leaves will be there to cover and make a triangle shape to fold and secure later.
8. Start with desiccated coconut. This helps absorb moisture leaking while folding, so I add it in the base.
9. Add sweet saunf (fennel seeds) say ¼ tsp, followed by gulkand (½ to 1 tsp) ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon of each dates, Tutti frutti, ¼ teaspoon betel nuts flake and finally again top with desiccated coconut.
10. Flatten slightly, fold tight by covering the tip of the betel leaves. You should be having a triangle shape now.
11. Hold it tight and secure with a glazed cherry, tooth pick running through the middle of the triangle so that it holds it's shape.
12. You can do the same with a clove. Repeat to finish and arrange in plate.
Perfect for a special day or as a part of get together after meal treat/ mouth freshener.
Jes says
Sema
Ramya says
Hello, thanks for the receipe. Can we prepare beedas one day before? If yes, how it needs to be stored
Raks Anand says
Yes, you can prepare, arrange in a plate and cling wrap it without any gaps. Otherwise it may wilt if it is exposed. Or put everything inside a ziploc cover and place in fridge. Do not freeze.