Degchi
Saunf (fennel seeds)
Also written: fennel seeds, mouri, variyali
- Urduسونف
- Hindiसौंफ
- Banglaমৌরি
Saunf is fennel seed. It smells sweet, like liquorice or anise, and it is milder and rounder than cumin. In cooking it is used whole, ground, or dry-roasted, and each form lands differently in a dish.
Whole seeds go into hot oil. Aloo ki Bhujia fries fennel with cumin, nigella and fenugreek seeds for about 30 seconds on medium heat before the potatoes go in. Kachori Aloo Sabzi fries fennel and cumin in a spoon of oil for the daal filling. Ground fennel is a gravy ingredient: Dum Aloo and Rogan Josh both list it, and Dum Aloo whisks it into the yogurt with Kashmiri chilli and turmeric until the mixture is smooth.
Southern dishes use it in pastes and roasts. Chicken Chettinad dry-roasts fennel with red chillies, black pepper and cumin, and Vegetable Kurma blends it with coconut and cashews.
Fennel is easy to overdo, and too much makes a savoury dish taste like sweets. Start small, and toast the seeds just until they smell fragrant, not browned.
Recipes that use it
6 of our 247 recipes call for saunf (fennel seeds). Here are a few to start with.
- Aloo ki Bhujia (Dry Spiced Potatoes)
- Kachori with Aloo Sabzi
- Dum Aloo
- Rogan Josh
- Chicken Chettinad
- Vegetable Kurma