Mouth Freshener?

BabeInTheWoods · Jun 9th, 2007, 09:08

What is the name of the mouth-freshener mix they serve at restaurants sometimes, after the meal. It has fennel and sugar crystals in it. I asked an Indian man on the plane over last time and he called it 'saunf'. But, having Googled it, it turns out that 'saunf' is the name for aniseed or fennel, not the actual name for the mix. Does anyone know what it's called?

We're going out to dinner tonight and I wanted to make some. I've made it before by tossing the sugar crystals and fennel seeds together, but I'd like to know if anything else gets added, or what the proportion of the ingredients is.

Hopefully it'll help counteract the effects of the ridiculous amounts of Dukka and bourbon we'll probably be indulging in...

Cheers

PeakXV · Jun 9th, 2007, 09:36

It's a great question .... although it's almost impossible to escape an Indian restaurant without running into a bowl/dipper of it .... the ones in Toronto are candy-coated(like a tiny tictac mouth freshener) fennel seeds that are made by a single large company and distributed to all the south asian restaurants in the city. Sooo the hindi-hinglish-nickname is never really a necessity ..... except of course if you need to prepare/order it for bourbon withdrawal.

Sama · Jun 9th, 2007, 09:48

Bird seed?

every time I use it after leaving our fave south indian restaurant, Mr. YogaGal says the car smells like bird seed!

machadinha · Jun 9th, 2007, 10:00

<cross-posting galore

>

Whew, good question, long search.

It looks to be called mukhwas, try a web search on that. There's recipes out there. Including this interesting court case ruling that I can't say i've bothered to read, but which conveniently seems to list a full manufacturer's recipe

SitaParityaga · Jun 9th, 2007, 10:06

BitW...good question...What IS in that mix!

So I went to my spice cabinet and dug out a two year old bottle of the stuff

I bought at Roopak's in Delhi.

Here's the ingredient list:

aniseeds
betel flakes
dates
sugar balls
silver leaves (vark)
betel leaves
rose petal
sugar
syrup
sacchrum oil
betel nut

And yes, it does get old. Having served its worldly purpose, and having turned a funny brown color

I think its time to say good-bye!

shashank.aggarwal · Jun 9th, 2007, 10:46

see there is no particular name that we know about...its simply called saunf and mishri..(saunf is fennel and Mishri is Sugar Crystal)..

Saunf comes in various variants..large size, small size, soated with some betel flavour, caoted with sugar..

iys basically fennel that is digestive, and sugar is for taste..

when you purchase try to purchase small sized fennel, because I feel that the smaller ones have more flavour and sweetness...

BabeInTheWoods · Jun 9th, 2007, 10:59

Wow! Thanks heaps you guys. What an awesome bunch of replies. Okay, I shall now go well-armed and ready to dispel effects of culinary opulance and overindulgance. Don't worry - I won't be back here expecting sympathy on the morrow. A little empathy perhaps...

daverm18 · Jun 9th, 2007, 13:15

Looks like you have the answer, but I had to bring out a bag of it to check, anyways. The ingredients on the bag: Sugar, Saunf, Glucose, Permitted colours, Menthol, and glazed with edible waxes. Yum, yum!!

machadinha · Jun 9th, 2007, 16:07

btw For the sake of completeness, the mukhwas I found after plenty a confusing cross-reference (the saunf alone seems to cover an array of herbs and spices, misinformed or otherwise) leading to a search on "Indian mouth freshener" which appears to be something of an established poetic synonym

So you could try looking for that as well, the other one seems to throw up any number of recipes though.

Nick-H · Jun 9th, 2007, 18:25

Mrs N tells me it is called Sombu in Tamil.

Jun 9th, 2007, 09:08	#1
BabeInTheWoods Hedonist Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: New Zealand Posts: 224	Mouth Freshener? What is the name of the mouth-freshener mix they serve at restaurants sometimes, after the meal. It has fennel and sugar crystals in it. I asked an Indian man on the plane over last time and he called it 'saunf'. But, having Googled it, it turns out that 'saunf' is the name for aniseed or fennel, not the actual name for the mix. Does anyone know what it's called? We're going out to dinner tonight and I wanted to make some. I've made it before by tossing the sugar crystals and fennel seeds together, but I'd like to know if anything else gets added, or what the proportion of the ingredients is. Hopefully it'll help counteract the effects of the ridiculous amounts of Dukka and bourbon we'll probably be indulging in... Cheers __________________ My Journal: http://www.indiamike.com/india/journ...howjournal&j=6 My Photos: http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/m...8255&protype=1

Jun 9th, 2007, 09:36	#2
PeakXV Naan.tering Nabob Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Abode of Glooscap Posts: 4,018	It's a great question .... although it's almost impossible to escape an Indian restaurant without running into a bowl/dipper of it .... the ones in Toronto are candy-coated(like a tiny tictac mouth freshener) fennel seeds that are made by a single large company and distributed to all the south asian restaurants in the city. Sooo the hindi-hinglish-nickname is never really a necessity ..... except of course if you need to prepare/order it for bourbon withdrawal. __________________ We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started ...and know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

Jun 9th, 2007, 09:48	#3
Sama a pain in the asana Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: the India inside my heart Posts: 5,199	Bird seed? every time I use it after leaving our fave south indian restaurant, Mr. YogaGal says the car smells like bird seed! __________________ *My India, 2005-2008*

Jun 9th, 2007, 10:00	#4
machadinha Not Your Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 10,114	<cross-posting galore > Whew, good question, long search. It looks to be called mukhwas, try a web search on that. There's recipes out there. Including this interesting court case ruling that I can't say i've bothered to read, but which conveniently seems to list a full manufacturer's recipe __________________ Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

Jun 9th, 2007, 10:46	#6
shashank.aggarwal Mr. Badboy :D Join Date: May 2007 Location: ~ Dilli ~ Posts: 5,153	see there is no particular name that we know about...its simply called saunf and mishri..(saunf is fennel and Mishri is Sugar Crystal).. Saunf comes in various variants..large size, small size, soated with some betel flavour, caoted with sugar.. iys basically fennel that is digestive, and sugar is for taste.. when you purchase try to purchase small sized fennel, because I feel that the smaller ones have more flavour and sweetness... __________________ Travelogue - Around India Random Reviews

Jun 9th, 2007, 10:06	#5
SitaParityaga member in the forest Join Date: May 2003 Location: California Posts: 888	BitW...good question...What IS in that mix! So I went to my spice cabinet and dug out a two year old bottle of the stuff I bought at Roopak's in Delhi. Here's the ingredient list: aniseeds betel flakes dates sugar balls silver leaves (vark) betel leaves rose petal sugar syrup sacchrum oil betel nut And yes, it does get old. Having served its worldly purpose, and having turned a funny brown color I think its time to say good-bye!

Jun 9th, 2007, 10:59	#7
BabeInTheWoods Hedonist Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: New Zealand Posts: 224	Wow! Thanks heaps you guys. What an awesome bunch of replies. Okay, I shall now go well-armed and ready to dispel effects of culinary opulance and overindulgance. Don't worry - I won't be back here expecting sympathy on the morrow. A little empathy perhaps...

Jun 9th, 2007, 13:15	#8
daverm18 Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: British Columbia Canada Posts: 41	Looks like you have the answer, but I had to bring out a bag of it to check, anyways. The ingredients on the bag: Sugar, Saunf, Glucose, Permitted colours, Menthol, and glazed with edible waxes. Yum, yum!!

Jun 9th, 2007, 16:07	#9
machadinha Not Your Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 10,114	btw For the sake of completeness, the mukhwas I found after plenty a confusing cross-reference (the saunf alone seems to cover an array of herbs and spices, misinformed or otherwise) leading to a search on "Indian mouth freshener" which appears to be something of an established poetic synonym So you could try looking for that as well, the other one seems to throw up any number of recipes though.

Jun 9th, 2007, 18:25	#10
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 25,765	Mrs N tells me it is called Sombu in Tamil. __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

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