Chocolate Paan (Chocolate Meetha Paan)
Oct 13, 2020
Chocolate Paan- betel leaves smeared with hazelnut spread and filled with chocolate chips, gulkand (rose petal jam), desiccated coconut powder, cherries! This is enjoyed as a mouth freshener in India.
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This Chocolate Paan has paan leaves (betel leaves) smeared with a hazelnut spread and filled with gulkand, chocolate chips, tutti frutti and coconut!
Dipped in chocolate, this meetha paan makes a refreshing after meal mouth freshener or dessert!
Whenever we go to India, I make it a point to go and try the newest paan flavors.
Paan (betel leaves) is very popular in South Asia and people often consume it with tobacco and areca nut. However, the version that has become popular with the younger generation is the meetha (sweet) paan which doesn’t have any tobccao and is eaten like a mouth freshener/palate cleanser.
Meetha paan’s popularity has soared so much in India over the last few years that now there are stalls of meetha paan literally everywhere and most them have more than 50 flavors to choose from (or even more)!
During my last visit to India, I tried lychee paan, they are available in all sorts of fruity flavors, caramel etc. There’s one which they literally light with fire and then put it in your mouth (looks fun but I was scared to try it)!
One of the most popular versions of the meetha paan is Chocolate Paan. This chocolate version came way before all the other fancy versions were introduced. I once had an amazing chocolate meetha paan in Gurgaon, it had hazelnut spread and it was completely dipped in chocolate.
Taking inspiration from that paan that I had, I made this Chocolate Paan. It has a hazelnut spread and is filled with all things sweet like- tutti frutti, cherries, chocolate chips, gulkand.
It’s really easy to make and would make a wonderful addition to your dinner table during the festive season.
Ingredients & Fillings
Paan leaves: you need nice large paan leaves to make this paan. All Indian stores in my area carry paan leaves.
To make meetha paan, I always choose the big paan leaves, you have to add all the fillings, so it makes sense to have a larger surface area to work with.
Hazelnut spread: I have used a hazelnut spread (like nutella) to smear the paan leaves for this chocolate paan.
You can also use a chocolate spread if you have that. Anything chocolat-y will work.
Tutti frutti: these are candied dried papaya and come in various color. Again, most Indian stores carry them so I always get them from there.
You can use an assortment of tutti frutti colors or use a single color, it doesn’t really matter. The different colors are more for visual purpose.
Gulkand: This rose petal preserve/jam is made with rose of course and is quite sweet in taste. You can find it at Indian stores.
If you have a big box of gulkand and are thinking of ways to use it, then these Paan Ladoo are quite good.
Cherries: I add some cherries in the filling and also use a whole cherry on top to seal and decorate the paan.
Coconut: the combination of chocolate and coconut goes really well together so I use some desciatted coconut powder in the filling and also sprinkle some on the top after dipping the paan in chocolate.
Chocolate chips: of course since it’s chocolate paan, I had to add some chocolate chips to it.
If you don’t have chocolate chips, you can simply grate any chocolate and add that to the filling.
Mukhwas: for those who don’t know mukhwas refers to mouth freshener made with fennel seeds, sesame seed etc. They come in various types and are eaten after meal as a freshener.
I have added a green color mukhwas that I had in the filling. You can use any that you have.
More filling ideas: so other than these, there are several things that you can add to this paan like-
- nuts: like chopped almonds and cashews.
- fennel seeds: you can add some raw fennel.
- peppermint: for that refreshing flavor, add some crushed peppermint or even a tiny drop of peppermint essence will be good.
- mishri: which is sugar candy can be also be used here.
- dates: chopped dates will also go well here.
Dipping in chocolate: So, I dipped these paan in chocolate which is optional. These are good without it too but if you want to make them more impressive and also add more chocolate flavor, then do dip these in chocolate.
I like to use Ghirardelli chocolate melting wafers for these since they are perfect for coating and require no tempering. You can even dip these in white chocolate if you like.
Storage
If I am not eating these right away, I like to store these paans in the refrigerator.
You can make these for a dinner party in advance and they will stay good in the fridge. Just bring them out on the day of your party and serve it to your guests after the meal.
Method
1- Start by preparing the paan leaves. Fold it and then cut it from the bottom at an angle to remove the stalk (see picture).
2- Now place the paan on a flat surface. Add 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut spread on the leaf and then using your fingers, spread the hazelnut spread over the paan leaf.
3- Now add 1/4 teaspoon of green and 1/4 teaspoon of red tutti frutti on the paan.
4- Top with 1/4 teaspoon each of desiccated coconut powder and mukhwas. Also add 3-4 chocolate chips.
5- Top with chopped cherries (from the 4 cherries that we have chopped).
6- And finally with 1 teaspoon of gulkand. You can reduce this amount of gulkand to your taste. The filling is now done, it’s time to fold the paan.
7- Take the right hand cut side of the paan and fold it over. Please see picture, you don’t fold it straight down but rather at an angle.
8- Now, take the left side and fold it over the right hand fold.
9- Then take the third side and fold it over to make a triangle (see pictures). You now have a nice triangle.
10- To seal the paan, take a whole cherry and insert a toothpick inside it and poke it into the center of the paan. Make all paans similarly. Once all paans are done, it’s time to melt the chocolate.
11- Melt the chocolate wafers using a double boiler method or microwave. I used a double boiler method where I took few inches of water in a pan and let it simmer. Place a glass bowl with chocolate wafers on top of the pan, making sure the bottom of the glass bowl doesn’t touch the water.
Let water simmer (no boiling) and the chocolate melt.
12- Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, dip one side of the pan into the melted chocolate and rotate to coat it from all sides. Do same with all the prepared paan.
Place them for parchment paper for the chocolate to harden, you can sprinkle some desiccated coconut powder on top. Serve chocolate paan as a mouth freshener after a meal or enjoy as a fun snack/dessert anytime!
More Paan Recipes
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Chocolate Paan
Ingredients
- 7 large paan leaves
- 4 teaspoons hazelnut spread like nutella
- 4 teaspoons tutti frutti 2 teaspoons green and 2 teaspoons red
- 2-3 teaspoons desiccated coconut powder
- 2-3 teaspoons mukhwaas or use candied fennel
- 2 teaspoons chocolate chips
- 11 red cherries 7 whole and rest 4 chopped
- 6-7 teaspoons gulkand rose petal jam
- 1/3 cup chocolate wafers for melting
Instructions
- Start by preparing the paan leaves. Fold it and then cut it from the bottom at an angle to remove the stalk (see picture).
- Now place the paan on a flat surface. Add 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut spread on the leaf and then using your fingers, spread the hazelnut spread over the paan leaf.
- Now add 1/4 teaspoon of green and 1/4 teaspoon of red tutti frutti on the paan.Top with 1/4 teaspoon each of desiccated coconut powder and mukhwas. Also add 3-4 chocolate chips.
- Top with chopped cherries (from the 4 cherries that we have chopped).And finally with 1 teaspoon of gulkand. You can reduce this amount of gulkand to your taste. The filling is now done, it's time to fold the paan.
- Take the right hand cut side of the paan and fold it over. Please see picture, you don't fold it straight down but rather at an angle.
- Now, take the left side and fold it over the right hand fold.
- Then take the third side and fold it over to make a triangle (see pictures). You now have a nice triangle.
- To seal the paan, take a whole cherry and insert a toothpick inside it and poke it into the center of the paan. Make all paans similarly. Once all paans are done, it's time to melt the chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate wafers using a double boiler method or microwave. I used a double boiler method where I took few inches of water in a pan and let it simmer. Place a glass bowl with chocolate wafers on top of the pan, making sure the bottom of the glass bowl doesn't touch the water.Let water simmer (no boiling) and the chocolate melt.
- Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, dip one side of the pan into the melted chocolate and rotate to coat it from all sides. Do same with all the prepared paan.Place them for parchment paper for the chocolate to harden, you can sprinkle some desiccated coconut powder on top. Serve chocolate paan as a mouth freshener after a meal or enjoy as a fun snack/dessert anytime!
Notes
- I keep the leftover paan in the refrigerator. Stays good for few days.
- You can even dip these paan into white chocolate if that's what you like more.Â
- Other filling ideas include- chopped nuts, peppermint, fennel seeds, dates.
- Choose large paan leaves so that you have a nice surface area to add all the fillings.Â
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
