I want this. I don’t know a trustworthy place to order from. I want the whole deal- the leaf, the lime, the chopped betel nuts. All that. Where the heck do I order? I’m tired of sifting through all this stuff from India
See if you have any local Indian grocery shops.
Is this considered a narcotic or a tobacco like stimulant? Ive been getting mixed messages from people. But then again the first time I had a cigarette I couldnt stand lol
@tom502 this product can be found at Indian groceries in the U.S.? I am heading to the city soon and if I find a good deal on a box I just might offer them up for sale here. I have been curious to try this stuff. Gutka seems to mean a mix of herbs for oral use that often contains tobacco and betel nut from the minimal amount of reading I’ve done about it.
You can find kaffir lime leaves at most Indian stores, though quite often they’ll be too small to roll a proper quid. Likewise, you can pick up tins of betel nuts, already chopped and flavoured with lime. They frequently also include other flavouring agents such as cardamom, menthol and various spices. I can’t help for other cities, but in New York City you can find paan wallas in Curry Hill in Manhattan, and Jackson Heights up in Queens. Just look around in an Indian neighbourhood for the word Paan on a sign. They can be literally anywhere. I’ve encountered some that were basically being run out of glorified closets with a window that opens to the street. When I took rdunnion around the city looking for Indian snuffs in these areas, we came across one that was run as section of an Indian music/Bollywood movie store. I’ve also got a few tins of Zarda lying around, which I’ve been told is meant to be combined with paan for an effect similar to gutkha. I’ll try that in a few minutes and post back with my opinion on it. http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1305174772/ref=sr\_gnr\_aps?ie=UTF8&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=pan%20masala You can actually get several varieties of paan from amazon at the moment, though I imagine it’s a matter of time before someone complains that their kid bought some and got hooked on it. Here’s another site, which I can vouch for as I’ve purchased from them in the past. http://www.desistores.net/catalog/index.php?cPath=50&osCsid=85e9d0dca4f953adee01457bec8e2131 It takes ages to show up though. I remember my package looked super sketchy, I’m surprised it made it through customs. They basically wrapped everything in strips of cloth and sealed with wax.
Also, import at your own risk. I find it unlikely you’ll be caught or given any hassle over it, but customs in the US is supposed to detain the package if betel nuts are detected. According to erowid, it seems like betel is perfectly fine to import, but some cases can see the package seized. If I had to hazard a guess why, I would assume that it’s because with a large volume of them, one could potentially synthesize cocaine analogs from arecoline, which is the active ingredient in betel nuts. Edit: It seems as if I’ve gone and pitched all my paan and zarda, so I won’t be able to comment on the combo. Basically, paan is a mild stimulant, just like nicotine.
I found pan masala at a local grocery, I was told that it did not contain tobacco and was only a mouth freshener. Does all pan masala contain betel nut? EDIT: Ok so according to the all mighty Wikipedia, Pan Masala is a betel nut mixture without tobacco. Gutka is with tobacco. Something tells me that another trip to the Lakshmi Plaza is in order.
I am interestes, what kind of snuff may this be?
It is not a snuff, it is for oral use.
Yeah I hate oral tobacco, but i’m willing to try this…
I grabbed 2 boxes of Pan, one is called GOGO Fresh & Sweet Pan Masala (made in Pakistan) the other is called M5 Scented Supari. 
Tell us what they are like.
The Elaichi is cardamom seeds coated in silver with menthol. The GOGO is very sweet and taste like fennel seed candy with a little lift. The M5 is even sweeter than the GOGO, I think it is just betel nuts coated with flavorings. Seems like saffron and menthol to me.
I’m curious to see how the “stimulant” properties of the betel nut work with and without nicotine. Also, do these contain lime? Apparently lime is the most important ingredient to bring out the effects of the betel.
Yep, they have lime.
The fiance and I went to an Indian market today and found some RMD! Finally got to try Betel nut- I just did a little bit to try it out, but I’ll put it to the test this weekend. Alot like a tobacco buzz and maybe… caffeine? Something warm and fuzzy… I’m gonna need to take more next time. I’ll keep you all posted.
On a whim - with some birthday money to burn - I bought a tub of Pan Parag and a bunch of RMD pouches from http://audiorec.co.uk/Product.aspx?subid=301&curr=0 So, what should I expect when it arrives - assuming it does arrive - and how should I use it? Should I just stick it by my gum like I do with an Oliver Twist or lip full of NTSU, or do I chew it more pro-actively? And, (for want of avoiding something out of context) do I spit or swallow?
From what I’ve read on erowid, chew it up just a little bit and place it in the lip (similar to how you would place a dip). When the ‘effects’ start to wear off, chew it up a bit more and put it back in the lip.
@Pike Mopers: I’d have to say you’re either reading experiences by people who don’t know what they’re doing, or misinterpreting it. Betel nut placed like dip would just be painful. You should take however much paan you want, and put it in the side of your mouth, like how you would hold a wad of chew. Also, anyone else thinking namrata and the other Indian suppliers on here must be rolling their eyes watching people get worked up about this? 
After reading your description, I think I was misinterpreting it. Thinking about it now they mentioned keeping it in the cheek, not in the lower lip area.