Paan appeal

I have never been a paan popper and have always steered clear of the digestive until recently. Though fascinated with its mass appeal, I have somehow managed to stay on the fringes, curious but reluctant to take a bite of the meetha paan that’s a hit with most people. However, increasingly finding more paan-inspired desserts and drinks has made me step back and reconsider giving in to its allure. What has changed? Is it an increasing willingness to try something new? Or have chefs and mixologists stumbled on something that’s pleasing a lot of palates? The answer lies somewhere in between.

Turning over an old leaf

For many chefs, experimenting with the traditional flavours to create a paan-inspired dessert or a drink is a challenge they can’t resist as they get nostalgic, revisiting childhood memories. The key is to balance the sweet memories and translate that into a dish or drink that will appeal to a large section. As Tanvi Chowdhri, owner of Papacream, recalls,“Growing up, I lived in Kolkata and paan was a popular after meal staple in the city that I was very fond of. I wanted to bring that authentic taste of the Kolkata Meetha Paan to Mumbai in the form of a frozen scoop of ice cream.” The end result is a Kolkata Meetha Paan ice cream served with gulkand.

Harmeet Singh, chef and co-owner of Turban Tales, too has chosen to go the traditional way but by giving it their own spin. He adds, “Paan is an age old after mint used by many people in India, but due to tobacco content/betel leaf, people sometimes avoid eating it. That’s why the paan ice cream comes in. You get the actual taste and ingredients of paan, minus the tobacco, and what better way to eat it than in an ice cream (dessert format)!”

It’s not just about a perfect ending to a meal, it’s also about paying a tribute to a quintessentially desi flavour. As chef JJ, corporate chef at Lord of the Drinks explains, “Paan has always been a favourite mouth freshner in India as it has digestive properties. We at Lord Of The Drinks have deconstructed the elements of this desi flavour into a martini glass, served with thandai to break the monotony of the paan flavour.”

Not just nostalgia...

While nostalgia will only get you half the votes, innovation will actually help you go all the way. Something Aditya Gupta, owner of SpiceKlub and DesiKlub, is very well aware of. So, while the paan ice cream is one such creation, paan mousse is another offbeat dessert that was born out of the need to reinvent something that was already there. Gupta adds, “At SpiceKlub, we serve a paan mousse in betel leaves, which is frozen using liquid nitrogen. We did this to create a modern take on a traditional favourite, while staying true to its intrinsic flavours. At DesiKlub, we serve Mukhwaas, which is an immaculate preparation of paan jelly, cheesecake and thandai shots. The idea was to create something new and interesting by infusing paan in something unexpected like jelly and cheesecake.” Chef Jerson Fernandes, executive chef, Jeon, Hotel Sea Princess seems to have followed the same brief while creating the  Bumbaiyaan paan kulfi here. He shares, “Most people still consider paan as the best digestive to be savoured after a meal, irrespective of its cuisine. However, not everyone likes to eat it the traditional way with ‘chuna’ and ‘kattha’ so why not include this simple yet interesting element into a dessert? I experimented with the key elements using it in various forms and mixing different ingredients to get the perfect blend of tastes and flavour finally finding my perfect recipe in a Bumbaiyaan paan kulfi”.

Paan in whiskey?

While dessert lovers have a new flavour to drool over, cocktail lovers have also been treated to some inspired drinks. And it’s all thanks to the unique flavour of betel leaves, informs head bartender Chandrakant Shinde of Dishkiyaoon. He says, “Betel leaves have a unique flavour — it’s a hint of everything — sweet, bitter, lemony, astringent, and much more. After doing my research and doing a few rounds of trials, I realised that people loved betel leaves mixed with alcohol, especially whiskey and hence, we went ahead with the same.” For, those wanting a non alcoholic version, there’s always the paan inspired mocktail. Like the one concocted by chef Tarun Shetty of Pravas. They have come up with Damru Paan, which they claim is their best seller. Chef Tarun says, “Apart from its digestive and cooling properties, its uniqueness in flavour also lends itself to experimentation and innovation.”

So, it’s not just the wow factor that is working for the betel leaf, it’s that coupled with a heavy dose of nostalgia and a contemporary makeover with subtle notes, and chefs willing to try something hatke that has won over even the most reluctant of the lot to the other side.