Paan shots are a dessert, digestif, and mouth freshener all in one! Made with paan leaves, rose jam, shredded coconut, spices, and vanilla ice cream – this sweet and creamy treat will cool you down and perk you up after a heavy meal. This is the perfect treat to serve during your next dinner party, get-together, or to celebrate an upcoming Indian holiday, Holi!
What Are Paan Shots?
Paan shots are a rich, dessert-like drink that tastes just like meetha paan. Think: an ice-cream shake with all the delicious paan mix-ins.
If you’ve had paan before, then you know it’s made by filling up a betel leaf with gulkand (rose jam), coconut, fennel seeds, and more. It can be a bit tricky and time-consuming to make as you have to fold each leaf individually. While it’s fun to eat – it’s nowhere near as much fun as these paan shots!
These innovative shots are taking the Indian kitty party circuit by storm. My parents excitedly told me about this fun paan-flavored ice-cream-like drink when their friends started serving them at parties – and now my parents serve them all the time too. They’ll show me pictures of them taking shots with their friends (it’s so cute seeing a big group of grandparents “taking shots” lol).
I’m not really a fan of drinking alcohol these days (though I’m totally fine with consuming it in the form of food – hello, Rum-Soaked Fruit Cake!) and so this is a fun shot that I can take part in and actually enjoy.
Now, these shots are very concentrated in flavor so this is a drink best enjoyed in moderation. You don’t want to overdo it – trust me, the flavor is intense – and so, a couple of shots per person is good. One to two and you’ll be feeling great. After 4, it starts to lose its intrigue (trust me, I consumed quite a bit of this during recipe testing, lol).
Paan Shot Ingredients
- Paan Leaves: also known as betel leaves. You can find these leaves at your local Indian grocery store. These can vary quite a bit in size and so I’ve included the number of leaves as well as the weight below – it’ll still taste great even if it’s a bit more/less.
- Fennel Seeds
- Gulkand: this is a rose jam. You can find this at your local Indian grocery store or on amazon.
- Shredded Unsweetened Coconut: use it in the drink, and you can also rim your shot glasses with additional coconut if you’d like!
- Green Cardamom Pods
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Green Food Coloring
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How to Make Paan Shots
Paan shots are so easy to make! You’re basically making a smoothie or a milkshake and pouring it into shot glasses.
- Remove the stems from the paan leaves, then rip the leaves, and place them into a blender along with the other ingredients (except for the ice cream and food coloring).
- Blend until really smooth.
- Then add the ice cream and food coloring and blend again.
- Pour the drink into a container or jug and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes, then take it out, mix well, serve in shot glasses! You’ll get some texture from the ingredients when you drink it, but that’s how it should be – you want to get that same flavor and mouthfeel that comes with eating paan.
See? That’s it! You can make this before a party and have everyone cheers with their shot glasses during appetizers, or enjoy it as an after-dinner drink!
More Indian Drinks to Try:
Ingredients
- 6 Paan leaves/betel leaves 12 grams
- 2 cups water 16 ounces water
- 3 tablespoons fennel seeds
- 3 tablespoons gulkand
- 2 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
- 7 whole green cardamom pods
Add Later:
- 3 ½ cups vanilla ice cream
- 4-5 drops green food coloring
- Coconut for rim, optional
Instructions
- Remove the stems and rip the leaves. Place into a blender along with all of the ingredients except for the ice cream and food coloring. Blend for 2 minutes in a high powdered blender (like Vitamix) – the mixture must look smooth.
- Add the ice cream and food coloring and blend again until well combined.
- Pour into a container/serving jar and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes, then take it out, mix well, serve. Rim shot glasses with coconut if desired.
Notes
- If you do not have a powerful blender, you’ll want to strain.
- Please know that no matter how much you blend, there will still be a bit of texture in the drink but that’s how it should be! You want to get that same flavor and mouthfeel that comes with eating paan.
- If you make this in advance, keep it in the freezer, then let it thaw before serving.
- To rim the glass, add a bit of water to the rim using your finger or a paper towel, and then add the shredded coconut.
Samta Gupta says
Hello Ashley,
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. Can you please let me know how many shots will the quantities mentioned in the recipe above make?
Neil says
Hello, how do you rim the glasses with coconut? Does it just stick there by itself, or do you need to add some sort of edible adhesive? And by coconut, you mean the same shredded coconut, yes? Thank you
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Neil, add water to the rim and the coconut will stick! Good question, I’ll update the post with this info 🙂
Suniti says
Hi Ashley, this recipe looks great. I was wondering, approximately how many servings/shots does this make? I’m sorry if you’ve already mentioned that somewhere and i’ve missed it. thanks!
Maneesha says
Whoaaaa this is incredible! I’ll give it a go! My parents love to party, and I can totally see them taking these shots haha
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Maneesha, awesome!! Can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂
Ravi B. says
I made the pan shots per your recipe, we all loved it. In some shots I added some vodka for my friends and they had fun.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
That’s awesome to hear! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out 🙂
Monika says
Hi Ashley – what type of blender do you use to make a paste of pan leaves? I tried to grind them once in my Vitamix and didn’t get a smooth paste until I added some water (milk)
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Monika, I use a vitamix – and this recipe calls for water, you’ll need it to blend. Let me know what you think if you try!