Virtually every train station vendor keeps at their stall a tin of panch phoron, a whole-spice blend that perfumes the air with earthy cumin and lively fennel seed as they liberally sprinkle it on savory dishes like mutton curry and spicy prawn curry. Known as “Indian 5-spice,” it’s a traditional flavoring in Bengali cooking. Unlike many other Indian spice blends where the spices are blended into a powder, the five spices in panch phoron are left whole. If you have trouble sourcing nigella seeds, which can be found at Indian markets, substitute black sesame seeds. Store this in a covered container in a dark place for up to 6 months.
Reprinted with permission from Chaat by Maneet Chauhan and Jody Eddy copyright © 2020. Photographs by Linda Xiao. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
For more from Chef Maneet Chauhan on her love of chaats, tune into this episode of our food-meets-music podcast Counterjam. —Food52
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