Panch phoran (Bengali: পাঁচ ফোড়ন pãch phoṛon), also found transliterated as panch puran, panchphoran, panch phutana, is a whole spice blend used in Bangladesh and Eastern India, especially in Mithila, Bengali, Assamese and Oriya cuisine. The name literally means "five spices" in Maithili (paanch phorana), Assamese (pas phoṛôn), Bengali (pãch phoṛon) and Oriya (pãnch phutana).
All of the spices in panch phoran are seeds. Typically, panch phoran consists of fenugreek seed, nigella seed, cumin seed, black mustard seed and fennel seed in equal parts. Some cooks prefer to use a smaller proportion of fenugreek seeds, which have a mildly bitter taste.
In Bengal, panch phoran is sometimes made with radhuni instead of mustard seed. In the West, where radhuni may be hard to obtain, some cooks substitute the similar-tasting celery seed.
Unlike most spice mixes, panch phoran is always used whole and never ground. Traditionally, panch phoran is used with vegetables, chicken or beef curry, fish, lentils, shukto and in 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) in Maithili 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.