Sekapur Sirih

Paan is a preparation combining betel leaf with areca nut widely consumed throughout South Asia, Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

Paan has many variations.  The basic ingredients are always : betel leaf, chalk and betel nut, as described by Ibn Battuta (1304 – 1377 ), a Berber Muslim Moroccan scholar and explorer.

“…the leaves of betel, puts a little chalk on them, 

and masticates them along with the betel."  

1355, Ibn Battuta’s Rihla

Basic Ingredients :

Areca nut = fruit of Areca catechu

Betel leaf = fresh leaf of Piper betle

Slaked lime ( Calcium hydroxide )

Myanmar's Fancy Ingredients :

Cutch = dried bark of Senegalia catechu

Anise seed = seeds of Pimpinella anisum

Cardamom seeds = seeds of Elettaria cardamomum

Clove = dried flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum

Tobacco = cured leaves of Nicotiana tabacum

Liquorice = root chips of Glycyrrhiza glabra