Chew while it burns! Indian smoldering snack (6 photos)

India is full of street food stalls, we have to compete somehow. And there was a street snack that shocks everyone, even passers-by. This is the paan you have to eat while it's burning! Moreover, the cook literally shoves it into your mouth before you have time to get scared and turn away.





Paan is a famous Indian dish. This is a betel leaf in which various spicy fillings are wrapped, or sweet ones made from flour and dried fruits. The main thing is a green leaf with its own taste.



Sold by the basketful from street vendors

True, if you become too addicted to chewing betel, your teeth and gums will turn red. It looks, to put it mildly, repulsive. There is an opinion that betel is slightly addictive and stimulates the activity of consciousness.

However, many Europeans who have tried this do not notice anything like this. Perhaps this sheet only applies to locals...



Everything is fine with him, he was just worried about the leaves

Indians eat paan all the time when they have a headache or cough. In addition, it makes your breath fresher, so it is recommended to chew betel nut instead of chewing gum.

Who set the food on fire



He shoves not only fire into your mouth, but also his fingers

This is venerable street vendor Pradhuman Shukla, who has been running a street snack stall in Delhi for 20 years. But more and more kiosks began to appear, and we had to come up with something that would shock customers.

I am, however, more impressed by fried stones or even ice barbecue in China. It’s just that burning food looks dangerous, as if there’s nothing to get injured from in India anyway.



Mmm, a little street cook's fingers in my mouth

- I had a regular visitor who often complained that his throat hurt. He loved to order paan to make him feel better. But nothing helped, day after day. And when my employee set fire to the paan and gave it to the client, his mouth began to hurt less. That’s why he started asking for only burning paan, and nothing else,” says the kiosk owner.

Tourists are also drawn to unusual food. The truth is that you need to have courage not only to swallow fire. You eat burning paan from the hands of a street stall cook, that is, literally from the bare fingers of a stranger.



Everything is ignited with a regular gasoline lighter.

As you understand, the product is very specific. For locals and the completely fearless.

However, up to 100 burning pans are sold per day. People often walk by and look, but sooner or later they decide and also come in to try the burning paan.