All Indians know paan. All Indians know dosa. But what exactly is paan dosa? The sight of a bright green mixture being spread on a large tawa (flat vessel for heating) with a background conversation explaining the cooking process has left netizens amazed and aghast. The conversation explains that the batter is made of “secret ingredients”, which cannot be revealed in case others copy the recipe.
The person behind the creation of paan dosa explains in the video that the idea of the dish came from the thought: “Kuchh meetha ho jaaye (Let’s have something sweet).”
Dosa, the world-conquering south Indian dish, generally works as a light (if plain) or a filling (if wrapped around a savoury preparation of potatoes or is laced with grated cheese) morning meal or evening snack. Paan (betel leaf) is both a mouth-freshener and a sweet item that people have after a heavy/spicy meal. The leaf is packed with chopped betel nuts and various light ingredients that impart a sweet, fresh taste. So, paan dosa incorporates all these features into one dish, to make something “unique”, as the voice explains.
The green batter is topped with butter, chopped betel leaves, tutti frutti, gulkand (sweetened rose preserve), cherry, dry fruits, and grated coconut kernel, more or less in that order. The result is what the voice describes as “shahi (regal/grand) paan dosa”, priced at INR150. All the ingredients are mashed and spread evenly on the green batter as the tawa sizzles gently over a coal fire.
What the video unfortunately does not show is what the final product tastes like. Netizens, though fascinated, do not have a very high opinion of this paan dosa’s appeal for the taste buds. The person who posted this video on Twitter (on the handle @happyfeet_286) offered up some eye-roll emojis and wrote: “Paan Dosa (followed by emojis), Time to leave this planet.”
One comment wanted to know: “Is that paan dosa or radioactive dosa?”
One user expressed their frustration with not being able to see the paan dosa being eaten, and commented: “I need to see the second part of this video as well so that I will deactivate my twitter account peacefully.”