A dash of gossip, a spoonful of spice: The story of panch phoron

In Bengali, “panch” means five, and “phoron” means tempering. “Phoron dewa” is also a colloquialism for making a caustic comment or adding some gossip to a story; enhancing the flavour of a story much like we enhance the flavour of a dish with panch phoron.

Panch phoron is a mix of five aromatic seeds with equal quantities of onion seeds, wild celery seeds (also called radhuni in Bengali which translates to mean “a cook”), aniseeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds. A teaspoon of panch phoron—fried until it crackles—is all it takes to transform even the simplest dish, like a chenchki (stir-fried vegetables such as potato, cauliflower, or pointed gourd with panch phoron, onions, and ginger).

What makes Panch Phoron truly unique is that, unlike other spice blends where these seeds might be used individually or added at different stages of cooking, here, all five seeds are always used together and always tempered in oil first, before adding any other main ingredient.

And it’s not all about just flavour and taste and aroma when it comes to the panch phoron ingredients—in case you think that’s all Bengalis care about—some of them have medicinal benefits as well.

Every cuisine and community has at least one unique technique or ingredient that defines it. (Photo: Freepik)

Methi or fenugreek seeds, native to a wide region in the Middle East and the Mediterranean, are also grown in hilly Northwest India. The leaves of the fenugreek plant were first mentioned in Sutra literature. In Ayurveda, the seeds are classified as having the bitter rasa tikta, and like many other bitter ingredients, these are considered to have anti-diabetic qualities.

Saunf, or aniseed, is also native to the Mediterranean but is now cultivated in northern and eastern India. It is often served as a mouth freshener or digestive agent. Cumin, native to the Mediterranean region, does find mention in Indian literature after 300BC. It is known for its digestive properties. The celery seeds and kalonji or nigella/onion seeds are, of course, used for their taste.

Panch phoron is one of my favourite ingredients to use, and I’d highly recommend keeping a jar in your kitchen. Just a teaspoon is enough to elevate any vegetable, fish, or meat dish. If you can’t find a ready-made mix, it’s incredibly simple to make at home. Here’s how to make it:

PANCH PHORON RECIPE

4 tablespoons cumin seeds

4 tablespoons nigella seeds (kalonji)

4 tablespoons wild celery seeds (radhuni) – if you can’t find celery seeds, you could replace it with mustard seeds (rai)

4 tablespoons fennel seeds (saunf)

2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds (methi dana)

Mix and keep in an air-tight jar.

PHULKOPI ALUR CHENCHKI – CAULIFLOWER AND POTATO CHENCHKI

Chenchki is the name for lightly sauteed vegetables, usually eaten with rice or Luchi

Ingredients

1 onion, sliced

1 cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes

100g peas

1 tbsp freshly made ginger paste (optional)

2 tbsp vegetable oil, or if you’re adventurous, mustard oil

Salt to taste

1 large tbsp panch phoron

2 dried red chilis

1 tbsp sugar

Process

*Parboil/steam the potatoes and the cauliflower till almost cooked.

*Heat the pan, add the oil. As the oil gets hot, add the panch phoron. Let the spice mixture sputter while sauteing. Do not allow it to burn. Add the red chilis.

*Add the onions and saute till translucent. Then add the cauliflower and potatoes and peas and keep sauteing. Add the ginger paste next and sugar and salt.

*Add half a cup of water and turn the flame low and allow to cook till the vegetables are cooked through.

*Adjust the seasoning. This dish is dry and does not have any gravy. It is pure comfort food allowing the panch phoron flavour to shine through.

Next week, I will write on the strange union of Sikhs and cheese in Italy.