paan masala

[gus_tatory]

hi Indian forum--i completely defer to the experts on this one. but i'm curious, although not sure if it's "food", per se...

my friend Maha told me a lovely story of when she was young in Pakistan, all the women of a certain age would sit around and roll paan (like american chewing tobacco, but bundles in leaves held in the mouth for hours). i understand it's a mix of herbs, leaves, etc.

she remembers the ladies' sweet breath (cloves? eucalyptus maybe?) and their red-stained gums and teeth (pistachios?).

has paan gone out of vogue? is it a demographic thing? i just saw paan masala at a spice store yesterday, and it re-awoke her story for me.

thanks in advance for any info

gus

Edited July 10, 2003 by gus_tatory (log)

[Matthew Grant]

They are still dishing out these little parcels at my favourite punjabi restaurant in Norbury (UK). I'm not sure whats in it and for some reason I can't bring myself to try it . It definitely has cloves in it along with (I think) fenugreek seeds and a whole host of other things. I'm going on Saturday and will make an effort to try it.

[gus_tatory]

oh my; never mind--this is not food, really. just did more research, and it's actually worse-sounding than chewing tobacco.

(eek--is it possible to delete a topic--although it is interesting from a cultural/anthropological standpoint)

Edited July 10, 2003 by gus_tatory (log)

[Matthew Grant]

Maybe I won't try it then!

[gus_tatory]

don't want to over-react, but if you google "paan masala" some fairly alarmist--no, *very* alarmist--health warnings come up.

but i still have only a vague idea what it is... as i said, i defer to the experts.

[Monica Bhide]

I love the stuff. I guess they tell you not to eat certain brands of Paan Masala (different from Paan -which is what you described) -- since it uses some sort of lime that is not good for you. There are lime free versions that I love -- It really tastes awesome

Paan or betel leaf chewing is another favorite thing of mine (minus the tobacco) yummy! It is all an acquired taste though!

[gus_tatory]

Monica, glad to hear from you--

it seems a shame that this savoury, culturally-entrenched item (mostly herbs/spices), which could be like a Ricola herbal tonic-sorta thing, is so maligned. what is the ingredient that gives people mouth sores? betel nuts? you mentioned lime, and i'm assuming you mean CaOH, not lime the citrus fruit.

i'm assuming that overuse or habitual use is the culprit--the google search contained some panicked reports of various sorts.

[Sleepy_Dragon]

Hello:

Could someone explain what betel leaves and paan masala taste like?

I was very happy to discover background info here though less happy about learning of the cancer concerns; I've wanted to try paan for a few years now ever since reading about it in Madhur Jaffrey's "A Taste of India" but haven't been able to find it. At least now after reading the old related posts on egullet I finally know it's considered contraband by the US gov't. Drat!

Pat

Edited October 15, 2003 by Sleepy_Dragon (log)

[tryska]

umm..leafy, green....somewhat sour, somewhat bitter. I've neve rhad it with betel nut, and i prefer mine with spices and rock sugar. adding those in give it a spicy-sweet note to go along with the green sour bitter.