Panch Phoron (also called panch phoran or paanch phoron) literally means “five spices.” It is a spice blend commonly used in Eastern India and Bangladesh and consists of the following seeds: Cumin, Brown Mustard, Fenugreek, Nigella and Fennel. The spices are left whole and, depending on how they’re being used, are either dry roasted or fried in oil in order to coax out their pungent flavors.
Panch Phoron is delicious as a rub for meats, added to Indian stews, sprinkled on vegetables, or used for pickling vegetables. It is also a delicious addition to any “carb-like” foods such as breads like naan bread. I wrote about Nigella Seeds a few days ago in my post for Indian Mango Chutney. It is quite the extraordinary spice and can be purchased online or in Indian specialty stores. There really are no adequate words to describe its flavor. It adds a wonderful depth and flavor to any dish it’s added to and really brings Panch Phoron to life. A quick spice blend to make, give it a try and you’ll be reaching for it any time you have a hankering for authentic Indian food. I will posting some of my recipes in the near future that call this spice blend. Stay tuned!
Here is one delicious and easy way to use panch phoron: Check out Panch Phoron Roasted Potatoes. Enjoy them as part of an Indian dinner or as a stand-alone snack.
Quick and easy to assemble, you simply measure out and combine the five different spice seeds. Keep the Panch Phoron spice blend in an airtight jar and it will keep for many months. Here are the five spices used in this blend, pulled from my well-stocked spice cabinet. Many health food stores and co-ops sell their spices in bulk and you can simply scoop out the quantity you need. most will carry all of these spices, with the exception of the nigella seeds which can be purchased online or at an Indian grocery store.
Panch Phoron is usually a mixture of equal amounts of each spice. I choose to use less fenugreek because of its bitter taste. Feel free to increase the quantity if you like.
Try this seasoning blend with this recipe for delicious Panch Phoron Roasted Potatoes!
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon nigella seeds (also called black cumin or kalonji)
- 1½ teaspoons fenugreek seeds
- Combine the seeds in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.
- Depending on what kind of dish you make with these seeds, they can either be fried briefly in oil or dry roasted to coax out their rich flavors.
Indian food lovers, don’t forget to also try this recipe for the BEST Indian Mango Chutney!
Ikramuddin Akbar says
And still,after going through all the chatpata comments the “nigela’ is confusing me. I request all the respected commenters to pls make a final decision as to what Panchphodan is? I mean what are the real ingredients pls use desi names of the ingredients. This will be a favor to me .Thanks
s7even says
Nigela is Kalonji in hindi or urdu.
You can use celery seeds (radhuni) instead of mustard. As is the case every household or area has its own interpretation of a recipie.
Sukanya says
Hi Kimberly:
Just a quick correction regarding Panch Phoron, which hails from Eastern India (mostly Bengali cuisine) and also Bangladesh. While the commercial brands use mustard seeds, it is not authentic. It should be “randhani” or “radhuni” spelled both ways. Closest spice is celery seed.
The actual version (that my grandmum and ancestors used) is equal parts:
Cumin Seeds
Nigella (Black Onion Seeds)
Fenugreek seeds
Fennel Seeds
Celery seeds
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sukanya, thanks for that info. I’m not familiar with randhani/radhuni. Is it the same thing as ajmod beej? Commercial brands of panch phoron is the only version I’m familiar with and yes, all of the imported brands from India use mustard seeds.
Swati Dixit says
Nigella is not black cumin as stated in the article. Black cumin is Shahi Jeera, which is completely different
Steve says
I have the Mustard,Nigella and Fennel seeds but only have Cumin powder and dried Fenugreek leaves. Will that be a problem?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Steve, that should be just fine for contributing the panch phoron flavor to whatever you’re adding it to.
Mark says
No. The idea is to fry the whole spices, and leave them whole in the final dish. The ground spices will probably give you a similar flavour, but you lose the effect of the whole spice. Fenugreek leaves (also known as Methi) are nothing like the seed. Same plant, different taste.
You should be able to get the whole seeds at any Indian or Pakistani grocery store anywhere in the world (and at least where I live, they are a much cheaper source for all the south Asian herbs and spices than the supermarket chains).
Sukanya says
Dry fenugreek leaves have a very different taste. You need the seeds (which have a slight bitter taste when tempered) and also whole cumin seeds. Powder vs. whole has quite a different taste.
Avimaxz says
I have actually used these 5 spices. I really recommend these spices to you. These spices are good for the body.
Steve says
I sometimes add this spice mix to soda bread dough before baking. It’s really delicious served with a dal.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s a great idea, Steve, thanks for sharing!
Richa says
Hi, this is very close to authentic panch phoran of Eastern India. People could add or reduce the amounts of individual seeds as the like but as you said, it has almost equal quantities of each seed. Best to be cooked/stored as whole spices rather than ground. And man, I loved this concoction since the day I tried it. I think everyone should try atleast once if they wanna try Indian food or simply because of the aroma it imparts Indian curries, especially dals (cooked pulses) or vegetables.
Beth says
I’m to this, do you grind or mill the seeds before cooking or leave whole and store all together?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Beth, for panch phoron the spices are combined and left whole (they are not ground).
Annu says
You need to add 1 or 2 tsps of the mixed seeds in hot oil before adding any vegetables.
giovanni says
nigella seeds (also called black cumin …)
yes, this is often written everywhere, but it is a common mistake: the real black cumin is …. black cumin (Kala Jeera)
Annu says
Nigella seeds are actually onion seeds. I use this Panch Phoron to make ladies finger subzi with onion and tomatoes.
naina says
So lovely to find panch phoron is making its way around the world. Your recipe is quite authentic and is the blend found outside Bengal. The radhuni seeds are indeed added in Bengal in addition to Mustard now and add a really distinct flavour – especially as it is found no where elsein India that I am aware of. We never use panch phoran in meats, only vegetable dishes, as meats require richer flavours of garam masala. But since I am not a stickler, I will try it in a kabab now, quite inspired. Let me recommend 2 tiny recipes. 1. heat 1 tb sp of oil, add a tsp of panch phoran, and let it pop. Add one chopped onion, fry lightly, add a 1/2head of medium cauliflower, chooped small. Saute. add salt and turmeric and chopped cilantro. reduce heat, cover till soft. 2. heat mustard oil, add 2 chopped garlic cloves and a tsp of nigella seeds. Add a pound of chopped butternut squash. Add salt and turmeric. cover. lower heat. Both may be eaten with flat breads and dahl. :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Naina, thanks so much for your comment and for the information you provided. Thank you also for the recipe, it sounds wonderful and I look forward to trying it!
Margaret Hodge says
Can I buy the fenugreeks seeds at grocery store.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Margaret, you probably won’t find them in regular grocery stores. You can find them in health food stores and online (I’ve included a link for convenience).
evelyngittoes says
I have just gone through my spice cupboard and I have all the spices needed to make this…I am making a chicken dish from the Waitrose weekend newspaper tomorrow :-)
The Daring Gourmet says
Sounds great, evelyngittoes!
Anonymous says
We use the five spice blend same as The Daring Gourmet. We also grind fine this mixture & sprinkle the powdered version on pork chops & chicken. The full seed blend is great also pressed into pork before roasting, frying, barbeque, yum.
The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks for the tips. Panch phoron is a wonderful and versatile spice blend.
Anonymous says
well, authentic panch phoron uses methi or fenugreek, saunf or fennel seeds, cumin, nigella seeds and wild celery seeds or randhuni as it is called in bangla and not mustard seeds.
The Daring Gourmet says
Panch Phoron, translated as “five spices”, uses brown mustard seeds. You can verify that by easily by doing a quick online search.
Anonymous says
In Bengal, people prefer using Randhuni over Sorshe (mustard).
Because mustard is widely available, the more popular concoction has now uses mustard seeds.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
The individual was making a blanket statement that “authentic” panch phoron in general doesn’t use mustard, which is incorrect.