Paan Parfait or Paan Bahaar
Half a pack of crackers - marie or glucose biscuits work.
2 tbsp melted butter
Crush the crackers in a blender to a coarse powder. You could also put the crackers in a ziploc and crush it with the back of a ladle. add melted butter and mix to make a crumbly mixture. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little more melted butter.
White cream layer
200 ml heavy whipping cream
1/2-3/4 tsp powdered elaichi
1/2 tsp safforn ( around 10-15 strands)
2 tbsp powdered sugar
finely chopped dates (around 7-8)
Take whipping cream in a mixing bowl and beat until it becomes stiff - either with a hand held blender or a stand mixer(usually takes about 5-7 mins with short breaks). Once the cream becomes stiff, fold in all other ingredients and mix lightly with a spatula. do not mix it too rigorously - the cream will end up becoming too firm and hard, if you do. Set aside to chill
Pan Mousse layer
10 beetle leaves
2-3 tbsp saunf
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2- 3 tbsp rose water
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
a drop of green food color (optional)
200 ml heavy whipping cream
finely powder saunf in a blender. to this the rose water, chopped beetle leaves, powdered sugar, 2 tbsp cream and blend to a smooth paste. make sure not to make this paan paste too watery. take the 200 ml whipping cream in a mixing bowl. beat until stiff either with a hand held blender or a stand mixer(usually takes about 5-7 mins with short breaks). fold in the pan pasteand lightly mix.remember to be very gentle while mixing. do nt mix very rigorously. Your paan mousse layer is now ready.
For Assembling
1.Take an individual dessert container. I ordered mine from amazon. they were disposable and came with lids and spoons.
2.Add a spoon of the cracker mix first. press with the back of a spoon to form a firm base.
3.Next is the white whipped cream layer. add about 2 spoons of this as the next layer. I used a piping bag to add this layer. It can be done with a spoon too, but the chances of touching the edges are higher and the layers can get smudged.
4.Next layer is the Gulkhand. The quantity of gulkhand is personal choice. I added about a tsp of it for each cup. you can either increase or decrease based on your preference.
5.After that is the Desiccated Coconut either sweet or unsweetened, doesnt matter. Since the layer below it is quite sweet already, it doesnt matter if this is sweetened or not. but the coconut definitely adds an amazing nutty flavor. I wouldnt skip this ingredient.
6.Then comes the Paan mousse . Again, about 2 spoons of it. I used piping bags but feel free to just spoon it in.
7.Garnish with Tutti Frutti and Mukhwaas Your Paan Parfait is ready!
Tips:
1. The quantity of each of these layers is personal choice. feel free to add more or less of any of these layers as you please. When i make it the next time, I will probably skip the base cracker layer.... some of my guests loved it and some didnt really care for it. so its a hit or a miss.
2. Since gulkhand is very sweet, I kept the sweetness very low on all the other layers. The combined sweetness turned out perfect.
3. Several people are not used to the distinct rose flavor of the gulkhand. So I chose to let my guests know in advance about it so that they can push the gulkhand aside if they do not relish the rose flavor.
4. garnishing with tutti frutti is also customizable. The kids took a handful extra and added it on top. so it'd be a good idea to serve some extra in a bowl for self serve.
5. green food color is definitely optional. I made the mousse layer without the color first. the taste was great but the color wasn't very pleasant. it was a light greenish brown and not very appetising. So I went ahead and added the color. no change in taste whatsoever.
6. These quantities made about 20 individual desserts for me. the saunf and beetle leaf quantity is critical for flavor. roughly, it took about 1 paan leaf for 2 serves and a little less than a quarter spoon of saunf for every individual cup
