Panch Phoran - Indian 5-Spice
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What is Panch PhorAn?
Panch Phoran, also known as Panch Phodon, directly translates to “five spices,” which “panch” meaning five and “phoron” meaning tempering. You may have heard of Chinese 5-Spice - there’s one used in Northeast and Eastern India and Bangladesh! This is a spice mixture consisting of whole spices. They’re typically fried in ghee or dry roasted before using it in recipes. A word of caution: Mustard seeds tend to splatter in oil, so be wary of that!
This Panch Phoran recipe will show you what are the whole five spices used to make the blend and give some more information about them. I’ll also describe how to roast the spices and how to store your Panch Phoran spice mixture. As I discuss in my 5 top tips to get you motivated in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!!, if you’re stuck in a rut in the kitchen, then you should take a look at what you have and use that to inspire you! If you have this aromatic Panch Phoran laying around in your cupboard, then this may inspire cook up something delicious! I’ll give some ideas for recipes where you can use Panch Phoran at the bottom of this post if you need some ideas. If you make Panch Phoran and try any of my recipes, be sure to share them with me on by tagging me on Instagram!
To see how easy it is to whip up Panch Phoran in real time, check out the video at the bottom of this post! Please subscribe to me on YouTube if you’re not already and hit the bell button so you receive the notifications for when my video recipes go live! I love to share them to give a complete picture and give you all the tools you need for success! Let’s get cooking!
What is Panch Phoran Made Of?
Let’s see what are the five spices for Indian 5-spice. Refer to the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD at the bottom of this post for the quantities, and to save the recipe for later. You can also go to the recipe card by pressing the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of this post. The recipe card will also let you scale the recipe based on how much you want to make!
Nigella seeds: Called Kalonji in Hindi, Nigella seeds are often tempered, and they help to promote digestion. I like to top my naan bread with Nigella seeds sometimes! They make it visually interesting and adds a refreshing flavour. Of course it’s optional!
Fennel seeds: In Hindi, they are called saunf. Fennel seeds are aromatic and are often used as a mouth refresher to cleanse your palette. You usually get these on your table after your meal at an Indian restaurant. They are green and have a sweet taste, which will be prominent in your cooking. Fennel seeds also have many other health benefits such as assisting in digestion and reducing gas. They are anti-inflammatory, soothing the muscles in the intestines and reducing the swelling and inflammation in the intestine. This can help alleviate constipation.
Brown mustard seeds: Known as rai in Hindi. Mustard seeds are more commonly used in South Indian cooking, but occasionally used in North Indian cuisine. You want to use brown or black mustard seeds instead of yellow because the flavour is much stronger. Be cautious of the crackling that occurs when you fry mustard seeds! If you don’t have brown mustard seeds, you can substitute with carom seeds (ajwain).
Cumin seeds: An essential in Indian cooking! I pretty much use them in every dish! Called jeera in Hindi, whole or ground cumin promote healthy digestion and can help to clear phlegm and mucus. They have an earthy and nutty taste and aroma.
Fenugreek seeds: Called Methi seeds in Hindi. These are very bitter and you only generally only need a little bit to taste it. Some recipes keep an equal amount of fenugreek seeds compared to the other spices and others reduce it. You’ll see in my recipe I’ve significantly cut down on the amount of fenugreek seeds versus the other spices. This is to ensure your dish won’t be too bitter.
You can probably find these spices at your local South Asian grocer, but if you don’t have one near you, then definitely check out the links above to shop for them online on Amazon in your country!
Ratio of spices for panch phoran
Typically, Panch Phoran follows an equal ratio of the five spices together. However, I’ll be following a different ratio. We’ll be using 3 parts cumin seeds, 2 parts fennel seeds, 2 parts brown mustard seeds, 2 parts nigella seeds, and 1 1/2 parts fenugreek seeds. If you check out the recipe card, everything will be scaled based on the amount of Panch Phoran you’d like to make. Just remember the ratio is 3:2:2:2:1.5!
How to Make Panch Phoran?
In a bowl, add all the spices and combine them together. That’s all!
How to roast panch phoran
Panch phoran follows a similar cooking process as cumins seeds when it comes to roasting them. If a recipe calls for panch phoran, then once the ghee, olive oil, or any other oil is hot, add the desired amount of the spice blend. Roast for 30 seconds, to a minute or until the panch phoran is aromatic and lightly toasted to release maximum flavour.
Storing Panch Phoran
It’s best to store your Panch Phoran in an airtight container or a glass jar. If transferring to a glass jar, it helps to use a funnel so you don’t make a mess! Since this Panch Phoran mixture is just a blend of dry spices, it will last for a very long time - essentially the lifetime of any whole spice, which is about three to four years! My recommendation is to just ensure that the Panch Phoran has maintained its potency, but you don’t have to worry of it going bad!
How Would You Recommend I Use Panch Phoran?
You can use Panch Phoran in many ways! It’s iconic in my Aloo Kohra Sabji recipe, or Indian Potatoes & Pumpkin Curry. You could also add it in Basmati Rice or Crispy Aloo Bhujia. As mentioned earlier, if there is a recipe where you start out by roasting cumin seeds, you can use Panch Phoran instead for extra flavour and fragrance! The options are actually endless, but some dishes you could try this in include Delhi-Style Chole, Aloo Baingan Masala, or Slow-Cooked Chicken Changezi. Comment below how you will use your Panch Phoran to give me some inspiration!
OTher Homemade Spice Blends!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE Panch PhorAn HERE:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!