Page "Areca nut" Paragraph 7

Usually for chewing, a few slices of the nut are wrapped in a betel leaf along with lime ( not to be confused with the citrus fruit named lime ) and may include clove, cardamom, catechu ( kattha ) and / or other spices for extra flavouring.

Betel leaf has a fresh, peppery taste, but it can also be bitter to varying degrees depending on the variety.

The combination of areca nut with betel leaf is called tamul ( ত া ম ূ ল / " ত া ম ো ল ") in Assamese, kavala in Kannada, tambulam in Sanskrit, bajjai in Tulu, and paan in Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, and Urdu.