Paan

‘I am an Indian, it is an Indian habit to take pan. The Civil Surgeon must put up with it.’

A paan consists of chopped or shredded nut (always referred to as betel nut, though in fact it comes from the areca palm), wrapped in a leaf (which does come from the betel tree).[…]The triangular package thus formed is wedged inside your cheek and chewed slowly, and in the case of chuna and zarda paans, spitting out the juice as you go.

Perched outside Madhavbagh Temple, decorated with antique mirrors, this 100-year-old shop serves up juicy paans, plump with mawa.

Preparing a paan is simple. The leaf is first cleaned with water and dried. It is then covered with a thin layer of lime paste. In north India, paan sellers then spread red-coloured syrup (extracted from a native plant) over the lime paste.