Meetha paan. Chocolate. Desserts!

I have so many things which I can associate with Meetha Paan. My dad used to smoke for the longest time ever and whenever I used to go and pick up his cigarettes from the local pane wadi I used to always buy one for myself. And then I had a friend who was so fond of Pan Masala. I remember she used to have one small packet of Pan Parag and then Chutki mouth freshener in her bag. She used to eat one tiny bit and there was always at Aroma of something nice that used to come from her. Hubby dears’ best friend is quite fond of Paan. But he enjoys Banarsi Sada Paan. Which let’s face it is extremely unpleasant…. So almost every evening when all of us used to get together, he would arrive bearing Meetha Paan as a gift for me, because he was very fond of the cakes I used to always have in my fridge. Yes, I used to bake and stuff, things in my fridge even then.

Even now after an Indian meal or dinner outside, a Meetha Paan is quite an essential thing to eat. Its basically a mouth freshener. There is no need to make a habit of that. Eat these Paan truffles instead.

So, when the good people of Ossoro sent these essences to me, in them was the Paan flavoured essence. I thought befitting to use it in a chocolate truffle because there’s always that look of a gorgeous dessert with chocolate.

White chocolate goes so beautifully with any Indian flavours. if you remember I made this Pistachio and Oreo fudge, which are the easiest desserts to make. Do check this out.

Chocolate truffles are essentially more of setting and melting kind of an exercise. What you need to realise is, that in India, primarily white chocolate compound is available. The pure white chocolate is very difficult to find, except from very few sellers. I use regular low-fat cream and I bought Amul Low fat cream.

You can steep the leaves to get flavour, for the truffle, but I found that the leaves within the truffle taste better.

Start with a small amount of chocolates and make a small batch of truffles. Its important that you get your basic ratio right. Humidity, temperature and the heat of your hands plays a very important role in truffles. Once you have that then you can add or subtract the flavourings and essences in your second batch.

Also, you need to give the truffles some time to mature. Maybe 10-12 hours.

 

For the

 

Paan Chocolate Truffles with Ossoro Baketitude

 

you need

 

375 gm white chocolate compound

60 grams Amul low fat cream

Pan leaves

Rose petals

6-7 drops Ossoro Paan essence

Two drops peppermint oil optional

green colour optional

 

Begin by placing the cream in a saucepan on very low heat and allow it to come to the simmer. You can of course stir it a few times or heat it in the microwave.

In the meanwhile, chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place 125 grams in a bowl.

Once the cream comes to that simmering stage, which is approximately 60 degrees centigrade, pour it over the chopped 125 gms of chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute.

After that, with a spatula mix the cream and the Chocolate while pressing down all bits of white chocolate so that it forms one homogeneous mixture.

Allow it to come to room temperature and add in half Paan leaf that you have chopped up very fine

Add the peppermint oil and 5-6 rose petals again chopped off very fine.

Mix this well and add in the Paan essence.

Immediately, you will believe that you are standing in front of pane wadi and he is making Meetha Paan for you. 

Mix well, cover the bowl and allow the chocolate ganache to now sit in the fridge at least 2 to 3 hours, if not overnight. 

The next morning the ganache should be extremely stiff.

Take equal amounts and roll between your palms to get small balls.

Place on a plate and refrigerator the chocolate balls.

In a glass, place the remaining chocolate and Microwave in spurts at 15 to 20 seconds each. Mix well to get a thoroughly melted chocolate not above 32 degree centigrade.

If you do not have a microwave, place the glass in a pan of simmering water, but first ensure that you cover the glass with foil or film, so that no water enters the chocolate

Stick a skewer into the ball and dip into the chocolate, tapping of excess and then placing it on a plate to set.

Getting this to happen may take a few tries. Also, your chocolate may begin to harden, you just have to melt it again.

Repeat the process and place the plate in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes

I coloured the remaining chocolate green and put it in a piping bag and generally piped on a little extra green colour.

Sprinkle some mukhwas just to show that these are Paan truffles

Place in the fridge and serve cold as an after-dinner mouth freshener or dessert.

 

These truffles are soft centred and if you manage to shake the excess white chocolate off, the shells will be thin and you’ll bite into them with a snap. What more can you ask for?

Chocolate and an Indian Paan.

And you wont mind your kids enjoying this once in a while.

 Follow me on Instagram and twitter, Like me on facebook….its all there , right here on this page. And if you do make the truffles, be sure to tag me #baketitude. I’d love to see what you make.

Loads of love and chocolate. Till next time then…

Bye

I purchase most of my ingredients from amazon,hence the links. You could also check their availability here.