Saada Paan

What is Saada Paan

Paan = Betel Leaf, Saada = Simple. A Paan made with no extra ingredients to get the original taste is called saada paan or traditional paan.

Saada paan are grown almost everywhere in Bangladesh. There are over 200k matric tons of betel leaf grown every year in this Bangladesh. Local trained farmers contact us and we directly collect from them, We also have over 4000 hectors area of our own to produce the best quality betel leaf. We do several lab tests before processing the packaging for export. We exported over 2000 matric tons of paan in 2014.

You can have paan in numerous flavours. Some prefer simple (sada) paan, some like sweet, some add tobacco, some like choclate, some make rasmalai paan, you name it and you have it. Anyone hailing from subcontinent will immediately relate to paan from their own region. Paan is unique in its own way. Owing to its historical and traditional value, it has been referred in numerous songs in Bollywood movies.

Delicious Sweet – Paan Recipe

I used to eat paan so often when I was growing up in Bangladesh. There is a paan shop in almost all corners in Bangladesh. This meant, there was never the need to make paan at home. Now that I have relocated to UK, it is a rarity to find paan. Hence, thought of making it myself and treat my guests, and yes it is an absolute great mouth freshener.

Some may argue that eating paan is not good for health. They are correct, however the problem is not with paan but with the supari / betel nuts. Sweet paan or simple plain paan is probably safe to be consumed.

Ingredients for sweet paan

Some of the most common ingredients required for paan are,

• Paan leaves, as there can’t be paan without paan leaf.
• Katha, Chuna, paan chutney (sweet chutney), fennel seeds, gulkand, cardamon, tooti frooti.
• There a few optional ingredients too, such as betel nuts, these can be sweet ones or little bitter, as well as these come as either dry or little soaked (easy to chew), choose as per taste. Other optional ingredient is “thandak” or mint / menthol, which adds to refreshing flavour. In normal paan, you will find thandak more often, but in sweet pan, it’s less used, but all depends on personal choice.

Method to make paan – Paan Recipe

• Wash the betel leaves and wipe them carefully not to tear them. Cut the stem from leaf.
• Keep paan leaf on clean plate or cloth and apply chuna on the back side of paan.
• Now sprinkle Kattha on top of this, just sprinkle enough to cover the surface. You can dilute kattha with water and apply a layer of kattha on paan. I have used only a little of it, as it could make sweet paan little bitter.
• Now apply Paan Chutney on top of this as another layer.
• Add one teaspoon gulkand on top of it.
• Now add betel nuts, tooti frooti, fennel seeds, desiccated coconut, and cardamom on the leaf.
• Top it up with Cherry and wrap the paan and close it using a toothpick.

Pro Tips

• Always use fresh betel / paan leaf.
• Add only a little of Kattha and Chuna, or you may find paan does not taste as you wanted it.
• Remember you have to add ingredients on back side of Paan leaf.
• You can vary ingredients of paan as per personal choice.
• Be careful with the kattha as it can soil hands.

How to wrap Paan

There are few ways to wrap paan. The key thing to note is that the paan should be wrapped so that the contents inside paan does not pop out. Make sure the contents in the paan are not too much. Contents volume can vary depending on the size of paan leaf. Use tooth pick the retain the folded shape of the paan.

Serving suggestion

Serve freshly paan cold after a lavish meal, such as after a mouthwatering biryani. For the best taste, eat a freshly made paan. In case you keep the paan in its wrapping for long, the leaf will get soggy and the liquid from inside of paan may even soil hands and clothes.