There’s no better way to finish a desi meal than with a mouthful of sweet paan. Whether it’s Maghai paan, chocolate paan or dry fruit paan, we’re game for all. But the queen of all paans has to be the Banarasi paan. Freshly prepared in front of your eyes, this mouth freshener has fresh betel leaf, areca nuts, gulkand, silver foil or varakh and more deliciousness. And now you have another paan-tastic reason to order it as Banarasi paan has finally been awarded the special GI tag. Here’s all about it.
Banarasi Paan Gets A GI Tag
Trust Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan to groove to ‘Khayike paan Banaras wala’. That pretty much set the tone for what’s going to come years later — a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Banarasi paan. The GI tag is awarded to products that are unique to a particular region. These are foods that are distinct to the particular culture, geography or even history of the place and it’s hard to replicate them in other places.
Banarasi paan & Langda aam from Kashi in GI club pic.twitter.com/tScuRocXVT
— Government of UP (@UPGovt) April 4, 2023
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A Must-Have Mouth Freshener!
That’s Banarasi paan for you! Banarasi paan is not just a mouth freshener, a post-meal food item in Banaras —it is an emotion. It is a representation of the city’s warm hospitality and rich culture. Unlike many paan stalls across the country, Benarasi paan is freshly made from scratch right in front of you. It comes in an array of flavours like the minty Banarasi Zarda Paan, the five dry fruit-laden Banarasi Panchmeva Paan or the simple Banarasi Sada Paan.
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The best part is that you can have Benarasi paan with an explosion of flavours starting from just ₹15. If you’re willing to have more exquisite varieties then you can even find paans priced at ₹5000. Apart from Banarasi Paan, the GI Tag was also given to other food items in Uttar Pradesh namely — Ramnagar Bhanta (Brinjal), Banarasi Langda Mango and Adamchini Rice.
A trip to Varanasi is indeed incomplete without savouring a Banarasi paan. Now that this variety of paan has got a GI tag, you have all the more reason to travel to the temple city for just the paan.
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva