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ELEMENT SPICE COMPOUND #C4Panch Phoron Plus OneInspiration: BengalPanch Phoron (Bengali for five spice) is staple spice combination from Bengal. We add poppy seeds, another common ingredient in Bengali cooking, to lighten this slightly bitter spice combo (mustard, onion, nigella, cumin and fennel) for Western tastes. In this mix, we only crack the slightly, rather than grinding them. Place about 1 teaspoon of Panch Phoron in a skillet with butter/ghee, and heat until the seeds begin popping (a technique called bagar). Use this spice mix in any curry recipe, or simply use it to grill fish or vegetables. Click here for a good generic curry recipe.INGREDIENTS: Yellow mustard seed, onion seed, fennel, nigella seed, cumin, poppy seed.
Since Blogger has a good search interface (thanks Google), I am going to start posting recipes for the ELEMENT SPICE compounds on the blog here, rather than keeping a linear list on the main website. Let's see how it goes. This is a picture of a 10 lb (5kg) chinook salmon I caught, with the filet on the left done with this recipe.
ELEMENT SPICE COMPOUND #C1Mustard Masala RubInspiration: North IndiaThis rub is a natural for salmon. It also works with trout, mild white fish, or grilled vegetables.Because salmon fillets are thin, the cooking can be done on just one side, though you can cook on both sides and halve the cooking time for each. The recipe below is for an oven broiler, though it can be done on a grill as well. Salt and apply the spice to the salmon up to 30 min to 4 hours before cooking. The rub will result in a “medium spicy” fillet. For “extra spicy,” add black pepper before serving.(1) Coat the salmon fillet with a light, high smoke-point oil such as canola oil. You can use a brush, the back of spoon, or drizzle a little oil in a metal bowl and toss the fillet in it.(2) Place the fillet skin side down.(3) Salt the top of the fillet with a flaky salt (sea or kosher salt) to taste, in order to draw out some of the juices and form a crust.(4) Shake or mix Mustard Masala Salmon Rub well. Place one heaping teaspoon (7 ml) per 6 oz (170 g) serving in a bowl. Drizzle with oil and mix to form a thick paste.(5) Spread the paste on top of the fillet.(6) 30 minutes before cooking, remove the fillet from the refrigerator and transfer to the cooking surface (such as a sheet pan) skin side down.(7) Broil in the oven to the desired doneness, according to the chart below. Set the rack so the fillet is 8-10 inches (20-25 cm) from the broiler. In most ovens, salmon will be medium rare in about 6-8 minutes, at which point it will begin to flake apart when tested with a fork. Monitor to avoid excessive blackening of the spices.Rare: 120ºF / 49ºCMedium Rare: 125ºF / 52ºCMedium: 130ºF / 54ºCWell Done: 135ºF / 57ºCINGREDIENTS: Black and yellow mustard seed, coriander, onion, fennel seed, cardamom, cumin, brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper.In the North American West, from Northern California all the way to Alaska, we have the privilege of widely-available, sustainably-fished, wild Pacific salmon. Better tasting, better for you, better for the community and environment. Try it!Some resources we like:Lummi Island Wild SalmonAlaskan Wild Salmon CompanySalmon NationMonterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program
