Panch Phoron – Indian 5 Spice To Elevate Any Dish

What Is Panch Phoron?

On the whole Indian cooks work with individual spices, creating unique symphonies of flavour on the fly – with notable exceptions, the 5-spice blend Panch Phoron (pronouced pānch poran) being a case in point. A versatile blend of whole spices, panch phoron adds aroma not just to curries, but also to casseroles and stews, roasted and sautéed vegetables, even baked goods like bread, and savoury cakes and biscuits

The marriage of black mustard, fenugreek, cumin, nigella and fennel seeds likely originated in north west India, notably the states of Bengal and Bihar, but is now used throughout. Nevertheless, in homage to its origins, panch phoron holds a special place in the dishes of Bengal

How To Use Panch Phoron

Use in vegetable dishes like bhajis and sabzis: temper the whole spices in hot oil at the start of cooking to allow their aroma to get deeply buried into the body of the dish

A similar method is used for making a tarka, an aromatic oil added at the end of cooking for a fragrant top note

Ground panch phoron may be added alone or with other spices to the wet ingredients in the middle of cooking to get fully integrated into the masala, or sauce

Check our Bengali Aubergine Bhaji recipe, which combines whole panch phoron with restaurant curry gravy

Sautéed and roasted vegetables love panch phoron. Sprinkle or rub onto vegetables with a drizzle of oil, salt and black pepper or chilli flakes

Pach Phoron adds an extra dimension to baked goods: bread, flat breads, crepes and savoury biscuits like oat cakes or Scandinavian knackerbröd

You can buy panch phoron easily enough from your local Asian / Indian supermarket, But mixing your own gives you that final say over the relative proportions and even the spices you use. And it's so delicious and easy to use and prepare you´ll wonder why you didn't discover it earlier?

Make Your Own Panch Phoron

Making your own panch phoron could not be easier. The classic version mixes equal quatities of whole

1. cumin
2. fennel
3. nigella (black onion)
4. brown mustard
5. fenugreek

Fenugreek adds a pleasant bitterness and is a staple in Indian cuisines. However, if you find the result too bitter for your taste just reduce the quantity of fenugreek. I suggest a tablespoon of everything and just a teaspoon of fenugreek

Some varieties of panch phoran replace fennel with celery (ajwan) seed. These are less sweet and far more pungent than fennel. If you're going to use them in your panch phoron treat them as per fenugreek and keep the quantities low, as they can easily dominate. I personally stick with the original classic blend and add a extra pinch or two of whole ajwan to dishes such as Bengali spiced aubergine, or any spiced potato dish

Beyond Curry - Panch Phoran In Other Vegetable Dishes

Panch phoron is so good in bread. I make a sourdough spelt and buckwheat loaf to share at breakfast every other day. I have a special container full of seeds: sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, chia, poppy and linseeds go into all my loaves. Since I like a savoury breakfast, I often reach for the panch phoron and add in a soupçon, just for that extra bit of something

Panch phoron is great in flatbreads, of course - pitta, naan, chapatis and rotis of every description. It's also fantastic in filled breads, either in the dough or the filling. Think Turkish gözleme stuffed with fresh sheeps' cheese and spinach, or Azerbaijani Qutab packed with fresh herbs and pumpkin. Or empanadas, whether the Spanish, Colombian or Argentinian kind

It's amazing in savoury biscuits: the likes of oatcakes, or Scandinavian knackerbröd

I love - adore it, actually - on potatoes: toss parboiled tatties in best olive oil and bung in a teaspoonfull of panch phoron, a sprinkle of good flaky seasalt, and into the oven for roasting

Though I confess I eat potatoes less and less these days, preferring sweet potatoes which, being part of the morning glory family are not, in fact, potatoes at all. Despite their sweetness, Ipomea Batatas have more fibre and a relatively low glycaemic index, which makes them gentle on your blood sugar. Also I think they're totally yummy - what more can I say?

You won't be surprised to hear me claim that panch phoron will elevate the profile of literally any vegetable, roast or otherwise - carrots, beetroot, turnips, parsnips, aubergines, they all love panch phoron

I love it in Ratatouille, or its distant Spanish cousin Pisto Manchego. I haven't yet used it in Sicilian Caponata. Maybe Caponata is one of those perfect dishes that doesn't need tinkering with. Or maybe I'm scared some purist will say: "Eh, Manuelle, if you make Sicilian Caponata not the traditional way, please call it something different, OK?" Fair enough. I know it'll still be delicious