Panch phoron

Panch phoran (Bengali: পাঁচ ফোড়ন pãch phoṛon), also found transliterated as panch puran, panchphoran,^[1] panch phutana, is a spice blend used in Bangladesh and Eastern India, especially in Mithila, Bengali, Assamese and Oriya cuisine. The name literally means "five spices" in Assamese (pas phoṛôn), Bengali (pãch phoṛon) and Oriya (pãnch phutana).

The spices typically used are fenugreek, Nigella seed, cumin seed, radhuni and fennel seed in equal parts. Celery seed sometimes is used in place of radhuni.

Panch phoran is traditionally used with vegetables, chicken or beef curry, fish, lentils, shukto and pickles.

In the tradition of Oriya, Maithili and Bengali cuisine , panch phoron is typically fried in cooking oil or ghee, which causes it to immediately begin popping. This technique is known as "tempering", called ବଘାର (baghaar) in Oriya, ফোড়ন (phoŗon) or বাগাড় (bagaŗ) in Bengali and छौंक (chaunk) in Hindi. After tempering, other ingredients are added to the fried spices to be coated in the mixture.

See also

• Chinese five-spice powder

References