Regional spice blends
Panch phoron
Whole-seed Bengali five-spice of cumin, fennel, mustard, fenugreek and nigella, crackled in hot oil to start a dish.
Also called: panch phoran, panch puran, pancha phutana, bengali five spice, five-seed mix
Around the world: পাঁচফোড়ন (bn) · ପଞ୍ଚ ଫୁଟଣ (or) · पंच फोरन (hi)
- Anise & liquorice
- Earthy
- Pungent & sulphurous
- No heat
Photo: Wiki-uk, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
Flavour and aroma
bitter-sweet, aniseedy, oniony, nutty. Bitter-sweet and nutty, with anise from fennel and a faint onion note from nigella.
- Heat
- No heat
- Forms
- whole
How to use it
bloom in fat · Tadka (tempering) technique
Heat mustard oil until it just smokes, let it cool slightly, then fry a teaspoon of the mix for 15–20 seconds until the mustard pops and the fenugreek turns reddish-brown. Burnt fenugreek makes the dish bitter.
- Tempering dals, chorchori and labra
- Fish jhol and vegetable curries
- Sweet-sour chutneys and pickles
- Aam ki launji and potato dishes
Identifying good quality
A mix of whole seeds: brown cumin, green fennel, black angular nigella, yellow fenugreek and round mustard.
Origin and history
Origin: Bengal, Odisha and Mithila (eastern India).. Grown and used: Used in West Bengal, Bangladesh, Odisha, Bihar, Assam and Nepal..
Panch phoron is a mix of five whole seeds, usually equal parts cumin, fennel, nigella, fenugreek and mustard (or radhuni). It is used whole for tempering, never ground, in dals, vegetables, chutneys and pickles.
Well documented
Recipes with panch phoron
No recipes use it yet.