Paan Daan

Paan is an indian snack that is made up of beetle leaf, areca nuts, slacked lime (common in Panns) and variations of fillings. Today in restaurants, there are 'menus' for Paans. One of the famous types one can get is the Benariasi Paan. There is a famous classic Indian song 'ooh khaike paan benaras wala...' which references the Benariasi Paan. The song can be heard on youtube. 

The beetle leaf is said to have stimulating effects and many people get accustomed to eating it just like smoking. It is also considered to be a palate cleanser / breath cleanser. It is an acquired taste to a new comer.

I find it quite refreshing. Actually it is more nostalgic than anything else. My grandmother used to be crazy about Paans, she had a 'Paan Daan' which a container that is like a mini shop for making Paans for oneself (I only learnt about the term 'Paan Daan' from a professional Paan maker who insisted on getting the term right before i left his shop :) ). I remember stealing some of her stuff just because I was curious. It reminds me of her when ever I have it.

The following pictures show a Benarasi Paan from that Paan maker. I love the neatly packed beetle leaf with all the goodies inside.

The following is a Supari Paan with extra beetle nuts. Its definitely a good option for the foodie who doesn't mind trying new things. 

Here are a few links on Paans' background and more information on it:
source 1: Paan Masala
source 2: Article about someone's experience with Paan

Asian Store food haul

I love the local asian store near my place, I find tons of new types of instant ramen and they are interesting and delicious. This time I got two types of spicy ramen (when they say spicy, they mean business. Im not complaning!)

When the package is opened, everything is neatly packed and the instructions were just to add hot water until the line marked in the cup.

The bits of soy nuggets were nice and the re-hydrated veggies went well with the noodles.

This was the second ramen and when I added hot water to it, the whole room smelled like seafood.

Not sure what the yellow bits were for, not too bad in taste but weird at the same time lol....

These black sesame crackers were a treat, they were sweet but not crazy sweet at the same time. Inside, the crackers were packed into sub packages and i liked how neatly everything was put together. This would be a nice evening/mid-afternoon snack with tea.

South Indian, North Indian, Rose Ice Cream

So vi and I were at this Indian fast food place and came across a Kulcha. A Kulcha is like a stuffed naan some people say that it is different from a naan in that it is made baking soda as opposed to yeast (not sure if its true) source. I got a spicy onion kulcha. It was paired with really homey maa-ki-daal (mothers' lentil soup) and a yummmy mint yoghurt and some side salad.

He tried Idli which came with the standard white chutney and sambar. The nice addition was the tomato chutney it was delicious

Lastly, we discovered rose ice cream. Where can you get this? It was such a unique fine. I didn't even know it existed until now. Not too well known is that rose has been integrated into Indian cuisine which involves rose drinks too.