Tradition · betel-chewing custom
Paan
/pɑːn/
Also known as Pān, Pan, Betel quid, Tambul, Thamboolam, Paan-tamul, Banarasi paan
Paan is the betel quid, areca nut and slaked lime folded in a betel leaf, often with cardamom, cloves, rose preserve or tobacco, chewed after meals and offered to guests across South Asia. The habit is Austronesian rather than Indian in origin: it reached south India and Sri Lanka about 3,500 years ago through traders from Sumatra, Java and the Malay peninsula, and the north only after 500 CE. In India it became court hospitality, ritual gift and street trade.
- Function
- Other / mixed
- Material
- betel leaf (Piper betle), areca nut, slaked lime
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
Worth knowing
The Malwa sultans' cookbook, the Ni'matnama, describes Ghiyath Shah of Mandu watching tender betel leaves of the finest quality spread out and sprinkled with rose water and saffron. In Assam, husori singers at Bihu are offered paan-tamul, betel leaves with raw areca nut, by each household.
Connections (4)
- Court associationMandu
The fullest picture of courtly paan comes from Mandu. The Ni'matnama-i Nasir al-Din Shahi, a Persian cookbook begun for Ghiyath Shah, sultan of Malwa from 1469 to 1500, describes him watching as tender betel leaves of the finest quality are spread out and sprinkled with rose water and saffron, and an elaborate paan made with fragrant spices, rose preserves and chopped areca nut. One of its illustrated folios shows the sultan directing the preparation.
- Court associationMuhammad bin Tughlaq
Paan closed the Delhi Sultanate's state meal. Ibn Battuta's account of a banquet at Muhammad bin Tughlaq's court, retold by Jiggs Kalra and Pushpesh Pant, ends after the halwa with faqqa, a barley-water drink, and then tambul, the betel leaf. Ibn Battuta also described the plant itself: grown like a vine for its leaves alone, chewed after the areca nut has been broken into pellets, with a little chalk spread on the leaf.
- Craft tradition ofKashi / Varanasi / Banaras
Banarasi paan, the betel quid of Varanasi, is the best known of India's regional paans among Indians and visitors alike, and 'Banaras Pan (Betel Leaf)' was registered as an agricultural Geographical Indication for Uttar Pradesh in 2022–23. The skilled maker is the paanwala of North India, and in the north paan is chewed after the Deepawali puja for blessings. Uttar Pradesh is one of the states that grow betel leaf for paan, and Mahoba's leaf has a registration of its own.
- Craft tradition ofMahoba
Mahoba in Bundelkhand grows one of the betel leaves registered for protection: 'Mahoba Desawari Pan' became an agricultural Geographical Indication for Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in 2021–22, one of several betel-leaf registrations alongside Magahi Paan of Bihar, Mysore and Tirur betel leaf. The registrations come as paan loses its appeal to farmers: demand is falling as consumers turn to gutka, and higher costs, water scarcity and erratic weather make betel gardens less profitable.
Sources
Wikipedia, "Betel nut chewing" and "Geographical indications in India". Thomas J. Zumbroich, "The origin and diffusion of betel chewing", eJournal of Indian Medicine 1 (2007–08). Jiggs Kalra & Pushpesh Pant, "Regal Repasts", India Today (1999).
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