Lucknow is not only famous for Nawabs but also for culinary delights! And, one of them is Malai Paan, which is available at Ram Asrey, a sweet shop that is more than 200 years old.
Popularly known as Balai ki Gilori, this Malai Paan is enough to attract tourist and the even local public. During the rule of one of the Nawabs of Oudh in the 1800s, tobacco and paan were banned, so Balai Ki Gilori was invented as a substitute for paan.
Only mishri and some dry fruits were served as paan wrapped in silver varq. For those who cannot visit Lucknow and want to savor a bite of the mouth-watering Malai Paan, try making one at home.
Ingredients
- Crisp malai layers or khurchan (as per the pieces you want)
- Few pieces of mishri
- 1 cup of crumbled mawa mixed with sugar and cardamom powder
- Dry fruits of your choice
- Saffron
- Rosewater (it should be eatable)
- Silver varq for decoration
Process
- If you cannot make malai layers at home, buy readymade khurchan from local halwais.
Place those khurchan on a flat surface.
- Put small pieces of crumbled mawa and mishri on the malai layers.
- Add dry fruits on top of them. Then gingerly wrap malai layers into triangular shapes, closing on tightly around the stuffing.
- Make sure that there are no loose openings, otherwise all the stuffing will fall down.
- After the stuffing is done make a little hole in paan with the help of a clove and sprinkle some saffron and rose water on it.
- Decorate the paan with silver varq and serve cold.