Wednesday 19 August 2009

Panch Phoran


Panch phoran or Bengali five-spice is an Indian spice blend typically consisting of five whole spices in equal measure.

  • Cumin seeds
  • Fennel seeds
  • Nigella seeds
  • Fenugreek seeds
  • Mustard seeds

Some variations include wild onion seeds instead of cumin, while others include radhuni seeds in place of mustard seeds.

Radhuni is also known as wild celery in English or ajmod in Urdu and Hindi. It is a very strong spice, with a characteristic smell similar to parsley with the taste of celery.

In the tradition of Oriya and Bengali cuisine, seeds are used whole and quickly fried in very hot oil until they crackle. Vegetables (especially potatoes), lentils, or fish are added to the cooking vessel after this to coat with the spice mixture.

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