Meetha Paan Shots/Beetle Leaf Shots
So today had to
go for a potluck brunch but wasn't sure till the end if I will be able to make
it for the brunch or no. So hadn't planned anything ahead of time. Also my very
enthusiastic friends who all are by the way great cooks too, had already
declared what they were going to get. And my desert plan flopped because there
were already 2-3 deserts. All of a sudden struck a nice “after the meal” idea, Meetha
Paan (Beetle leaf mouth freshener) but again didn’t want to go to the
traditional way. So decided to make nice little paan shots. I didn’t have fresh
beetle leaves or paan at home but had nice crushed ready-made Kolkata meetha
paan so used it instead of fresh one but didn’t notice any difference in the
taste at all (sometimes semi-homemade cooking is good and easy). Obviously since
it was for brunch couldn’t add any alcohol to these “shots” but still they were
as tasty as they would taste with alcohol. So here we go!!!
Ingredients:
- Readymade Paan Mukhwas (crushed): ½ Cup (picture attached at the end)
- Vanilla Ice-cream: 1Cup
- Chilled Milk: ½ to 1 Cup (for grinding)
- Saunf/ Aniseed: 2-3 Tbsp.
- Green food color: 4-5 Drops (optional)
- Crushed Ice: ½ Cup (optional)
- Shot glasses: 20
Method:
- Take out vanilla ice-cream from the freezer and keep it out for around half an hour.
- Now put ice-cream, crushed paan mukhwas, milk, 1½ Tbsp saunf (keep rest for garnishing) and crushed ice (optional) in a mixie bowl.
- Grind it till everything is well incorporated in each other.
- Now put green food color and grind again. This is an optional step altogether.
- Take shot glasses and fill them ¾. Garnish each cup with little saunf.
- If you are going to use them immediately you may keep them open in the refrigerator.
- Since I wanted to use them the next afternoon, I cling wrapped each shot glass
and put it in the tray which I was going to carry it along with me to the
venue.
- I refrigerated it overnight and in the morning took the tray outside and filled
the tray with ice cubes, so they were served chilled. Also they didn’t move
much in the transit. I cling wrapped the entire tray for more safety.
Note:
- Since I had to take it for the brunch I didn’t add any kind of alcohol in it. However, if you plan to serve it post dinner and you have guests who drink alcohol beverages, you may add around 90ml vodka while grinding other ingredients.
- I have heard even white rum tastes good in these shots, never tried though.
- Today after having these shots, one friend suggested we may add mint ice-cream instead of vanilla ice-cream and I loved that idea too. Haven't tried it yet but maybe next time I will try it.
- If you have all the ingredients for making any kind of meetha paan, please use them instead of readymade mukhwas.
- I got these shot glasses from Dollar store. 24 for $1.00, isn't it a great deal?
Please try these super easy shots for your next party and surprise your guests with it.
If you like this recipe, give a thumps up and please share it with others. Happy Cooking!!!!