Kathmandu, June 28 -- At the Gupta family's paan store in Thapathali, ingredients are kept inside a small drawer. Aryan, the eldest son, calls these ingredients his family's "treasures". Outside the store, in big red letters, is the paan shop's name: Rajdhaani Ko Shaan Rajkumaar Paan.

To prepare paan, Aryan, who sits behind the counter in the tiny store, first cleans the marble countertop and lays betel leaves in a row, plucked from a bucket filled with cold water throughout the day. He then adds pasty, milky katta and chuna, white lime powder paste, to give the leaf its fresh crunch and flavour.

"For me, making paan is like creating art-you can use your own ingredients and package them in different styles and give it your own final tou...