TRADITION
A Twist In Taste
SHALINI S. SHARMA
20 Feb 2009
 |
New Flavours: Chocolate paan is one
of the latest varieties available
(Pic BY Tribhuwan Sharma) |
The last thing one would associate with the Café Coffee Day generation is a tambaku-(tobacco) filled paan. A Chocolate Fantasy or a brownie replaced the betel leaf long ago, but the ancient mouth-freshener never completely disappeared. And now those who cannot end a meal without some exotica — whether aphrodisiacs or intoxicants wrapped in a leaf — have reason to cheer. The paan is back in new avatars — sans tambaku and zarda, which are said to be carcinogenic. Spotted at a recent fair near Delhi was, a chocolate paan.
Outlets in posh localities such as Yamu’s Panchayat in New Delhi’s Connaught Place and Shukla Paan Bhandar in Hauz Khas have given a new twist to the leafy tale with a varieties such as straw-berry and butter scotch paan. While a regular one costs about Rs 3, exotic paans can cost as much as Rs 200 per piece.
Time was when every cultured family would laboriously maintain a paandan, and children would be taught the etiquettes of serving paan to elders. Such days may never returns, but there are still some paanwallahs around Delhi who continue to do brisk business and sell these delicacies wrapped in silver foil or varak.
Die-hard fans still swear by the traditional varieties though. The flavour and the funk in the modern versions, is their verdict.
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