Herbal Beeda | Herbal Sweet Paan recipe | with 3 types of foldings

Betel Leaves, also known as Paan leaves are inseparable from the Indian culture for many known years. Chewing betel nuts with Arcea Nut has been a part of Indian culture as they flush out toxins and improves gut health.

Paan or Betel Quid is the popular after-meal dessert which consists of Arceanut, slaked lime, red Katha paste in addition to the other ingredients that causes a blast of flavours in the mouth, perhaps that may be the reason we see Paan shops all over the street sides of India.

 

 

From region to region, the making of Paan differs by the ingredients and the folding technique used. Even in the Betel leaves, there are 90 varieties around the world. Among them, 45 varieties are cultivated in India itself. Well! Not to get confused, use whichever is available in your place for this Herbal Beeda recipe.

Unlike the usual Paan recipe that uses more & more ingredients to give a blast of flavours, my Herbal Beeda recipe is pretty much simple with the home available ingredients. In Paan shops, slaked lime, chopped Arcea nut, red Katha paste, Gulkand, mouth freshener (menthol-based products), candied fennel seeds, artificially coloured and sugar-preserved raw papaya (tutti-fruity), sugar-preserved cherries, would be used to make Paans. 

 

While in my Herbal Beeda recipe, only 5 ingredients are used that includes fennel seeds, palm candy, cardamom, clove and honey. This recipe is what I'm making for years and, we used to have it after a heavy meal. Whenever a bulk of guests gathered at our home, the super heavy feast would end up with this Herbal Beeda and true to say, it never failed to amaze any one of them. 

The herbal Beeda sounds simple but tastes awesome with the natural flavour combo. If you have Homemade Gulkand available at your home, kindly add it to the Paan by substituting Honey. The store-bought Gulkand mostly contains sugar and hence, I suggest preparing at your home. Visit my Homemade Gulkand post for the sun-cooked & Instant Gulkand recipe that is made out of honey.

Know the health benefits of Herbal Paan:

• Betel/ Paan leaves - improves digestion, alleviates constipation, reduces bad breath, cures ulcer, cures chest congestion, cold and cough.
• Fennel seeds - boosts immunity, rich in calcium & fibre, aids digestion, reduces asthma trouble.
• Palm Candy - rich in B vitamins & Iron, treats cold and cough, the best sugar substitute which contains less glucose.
• Cardamom pods - gives good breath, treats cavities, aids digestion, relieves acidity.
• Cloves - boosts immunity, treats cavities, lends good breath, an excellent source of healthy vitamins and minerals.
• Honey - strengthens the immune system, soothes the throat, rich in antioxidants.

With a complete package of health benefits, this herbal Paan is great to chew after a heavy feast. My kid is so addicted to this super healthy Paan recipe and she used to have this at least thrice a week. Trust me Guys! This medicinal recipe helps to push out the toxins and strengthens you for sure. If adding Gulkand, the taste would be much yummy and again the coolant would lend you good health benefits.

Some Possible Variations in the Herbal Beeda Recipe:

• Adding Gulkand not only enhances the taste, but also elevates the health benefits.
• A few chopped nuts, chopped dry grapes and chopped dates can be added to the Paan if you desire to get the blast of flavours.
• A little bit of slaked lime is a good try to add calcium to your diet. 
• You could add a very little bit of Peppermint which keeps your mouth fresh.

So, keeping the main 5 ingredients constant, you can add in any of the above-said ingredients which avail at your home to make the Herbal Beeda more healthy. Coming to the folding techniques, people follow different methods and the most common among them is the simple rolling and cone-like folding which we gotta see in the Paan shops.

Can I make the Herbal Beeda Iced?

• Yes! Keep it refrigerated until serve & enjoy the iced-herbal Beeda.
  

In this post, three foldings are explained and the Pleating method is what you cannot find anywhere on the web since I discovered that with my practice to better seal the ingredients inside the leaf. It works great and is the only folding I do at home. The other two foldings are equally cute enough to munch after-lunch or after-dinner. 

So, the very simple, very healthy, herbal Paan recipe filled with 'no fancy' healthy fillings is what coming through this post. Let's do it without much delay.

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⏲ Preparation Time: 2 minutes
⏲ Cooking Time: 0 minute

🍴 Servings: 1

Herbal Sweet Paan

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The naturally flavoured, very healthy, Herbal Paan recipe prepared with "no fancy", simple, home available ingredients.

What do you need?

• Betel / Paan Leaf - 1
• Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Palm candy - 1/2 tsp
• Cardamom - 1
• Clove - 1
• Honey - 1/8 tsp (or Gulkand - 1/2 tsp)
  

Steps Involved:

• Wash the betel leaf in water thoroughly and pat dry it.
• Remove the stem part from the leaf and flip it over the surface.
• Add fennel seeds, palm candy, cardamom and honey (or Gulkand) to the backside of the heart-shaped leaf.
• Fold the betel leaf in such a way the ingredients are well-packed.
• Seal the folded portions with a clove.
  

Visual Treat: 

 Video link for "Herbal Beeda " post:

https://youtu.be/QtrqYzSMe9A

 

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For comforting the easy understandability of the recipe, the step by step detailed procedure, along with the picture is shown below:

Step-by-Step Procedure with Pictures

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How to Make?

• Wash the betel leaves thoroughly in a bowl of water.

• Take one leaf and pat dry it with a clean cotton cloth or kitchen tissue.

• Cut down the hard stem part from the betel leaf.

• Flip the betel leaf before keeping the fillings inside.
  

• Fill with fennel seeds, palm candy, cardamom and honey.

Folding Technique:

1. Pleating (My Style):

• Pleat the betel leaf all around starting from the tip of the leaf. 

• Once the pleating is completed, seal the gathered portions with a clove. That's it! The super-easy folding is done.

 2. Triangle Folding:

• Fold the right top part of the leaf crosswise and then fold the left top part over the folded right part. This makes a sharp edge at one end.

• Moving the ingredients into the created pocket, fold the tip of the leaf over the folded parts to create a perfect triangle.

• Secure the triangle folding with a clove. Sounds simple, right?!

3. Cone Folding:

• Fold the tip of the leaf and then make a cone by folding the side of the leaf over the folded part.

• Move the ingredients into the cone and pleat the top portion.

• Seal the pleated portion using a clove. Now, the cone-shaped Paan is ready!

Tips:

• Choose a big and fresh betel leaf that should match the size of your palm for pleating and cone folding. 
• For Triangle folding, choose narrow betel leaves which makes a perfect triangle. If the triangle shape is not achieved, you could trim the edge to get the perfect shape.

A perfect after-meal Dessert!