Meetha Gulkand Paan/ Betel leaf mouth freshener with rose petal jam

 

Dear friends- The holiday season is around the corner and the holiday fever is catching up in my household as well. Just wanted to let you know that I will be taking a little time off during the holiday (a well deserved one as hubs tells me :). Will surely see you in a little bit.

Happy Holidays

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hewing the Betel leaf or Paan, as it is called in Hindi, loaded with fragrant and flavorful fruit, herb and spice mixes, is the ubiquitous mouth freshener in the Indian sub-continent. If you think chewing gum is the most common form of freshening up your mouth, think again. Now I am no historian but the tradition of chewing the leaf has existed in the culture since the beginning of recorded history and is very much prevalent still in the modern age. To give you an idea, I do not think there is any public street in India where within five minutes you could not walk up to a little stall right on the side of the street selling this delight. This post would be incomplete without giving you a little description of that ever-present 'paan-dukaan'. A little makeshift stall made of plywood, roofing sheets and any other material nailed together to make a box like structure and propped up on four wooden legs, sometimes as small as five by five feet with a person barely managing to sit inside with a small counter in front of him. You walk up and ask him or her for the kind of flavoring you want and lo and behold within a matter of seconds he is ready with your instant gratification. In some places you pay as little as five rupees (a dime, no kidding) for a serving and walk away.

Oftentimes the leaf stuffing in the roadside version contains tobacco and tobacco derived products commonly referred to as 'zarda'. These products are narcotic in nature and may be habit forming because of which chewing 'zarda' paan is often frowned upon. The sweet or 'meetha' paan that I have presented here, on the other hand, is actually very good for digestion besides being a mouth freshener.
The Betel leaf is a perennial evergreen herb, with beautiful heart shaped leaves. Besides being used for chewing as a casual mouth freshener it has pervaded the culture in many other ways.  Most of the Indian religious rituals include offering Paan-Supari (Betel Leaf and Areca nuts) to the Gods and on many other special events like weddings. Some offer it to their guests and visitors as a sign of hospitality (after meals at both personal and social occasions) and at the beginning of social events. It has a symbolic value at ceremonies and cultural events in India.
Now a little bit about the typical stuffing that goes into a sweet paan, commonly known as 'mukhwaas'. It is a complex mixture of herbs, spices and nuts. It is a mouth freshener all by itself and is good for digestion. It usually consists of equal quatities of roasted fennel seeds, dried dates, tutti-frutti bits, dhaniya daal, sesame seeds, areca nut slivers, rose essence and peppermint. The other imperative component of the sweet paan is the Gulkand or the rose petal jam. Gulkand is a sweet preserve that I believe has its origins in the persian and middle-eastern cultures. It is very popular in Northern India. 'Gul' means flower and 'kand' means sweet. Rose petals are mixed with sugar and placed in air tight containers and left in sunlight for few days, stirred and mixed until it turns into a thick and chunky jam like preserve. It is used for many Ayurvedic purposes but very commonly used as a mouth freshener wrapped in paan (betel leaf).
If you have never tried a Paan, I am sure this should get your curiosity enough to give it a shot. It could seriously help with your gum budget... lol.

Ingredients: serves 5

Paan leaves ...................................................... 5, washed and pat dried

Flavored sweet paan-supari masala (mukhwaas) ........... 2 tbsp
Gulkand .......................................................... 3 tbsp recipe follows

Coconut powder ................................................ 2 tbsp

Raisin, Cloves, Cardamom ..................................... few

Method:

1. Chop the stem off with a sharp knife if your paan leaf came with the stem attached.
2. Place the leaf upside-down (deep green side of the leaf down). Over the leaf, place 1 tsp of paan-supari masala, about 2 tsp gulkand, 1 tsp coconut powder, a couple of raisins, one clove and a couple of cardamoms.
3. Fold the leaf to form a triangle as shown in the picture. Push a clove in the middle to keep it from opening. ENJOY!

For Gulkand ( Rose Jam)-

Ingredients:

Fresh Rose Petals .............................. 1 1/2 cups 

Sugar ............................................ 3/4 - 1 cup or to taste

Cardamom powder ........................... 1/4 tsp

Rose Essence .................................. 3-4 drops

Method:
1. Gently wash the petals and let it dry on paper towel. Crush it roughly.
2. In a bowl, mix with all other ingredients and everything and give it a good toss.
3. Transfer the mixture in a glass jar (washed and properly dried) and keep it in sun for 3 - 5 days, shaking and mixing with a clean dry wooden spoon occasionally. When it turns dark and attains the right texture, it is ready to use. You can store gulkand in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator. It can be used for months when refrigerated.

Notes:
1. Ready made gulkand is available in some grocery stores. Feel free to use that instead of making your own.
2. The supari mix or mukhwas is also easily available in all the Indian stores. 
3. Paan can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days in a ziploc bag. 
4. Fresh organic home grown wild rose petals are best for making gulkand.

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