Achari Chicken is an Indian chicken curry flavored with pickle masala or achar masala. It goes great with Indian bread or rice dishes. Here is how to make it.
If you like to try more Chicken Recipes, here are some – Coconut Curry Chicken, Chicken Masala, Kadai Chicken, Chicken Angara, Malabar Chicken Curry, and Chicken Keema Masala.
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About This Recipe
Achari Chicken or Murgh Achari, as the name describes it well, is an aromatic, tangy and flavourful North Indian chicken curry with the delectable flavors of Achaar.
It uses some spices which are also used to make an Achaar/Pickle and the base of this curry is made of tomato and curd/yogurt.
To give it an extra achaari flavor, I have used Achaar Masala and masala from already made pickles in this curry.
Just like Achaar, this pickled chicken curry also gets better with time. Trust me, you will absolutely love the leftovers!
You must be wondering that aren’t so many spices that empower the flavor of this curry and makes it spicy.
No, this achari chicken curry is well spiced but not spicy, as the spices used in this curry gives it a subtle flavor.
Just make sure you don’t add too much of everything, a little of everything only makes it flavourful.
If you want it spicy, you can easily adjust the level of heat by adjusting the amount of red chili powder that you use.
This Achari Chicken Curry is,
- Delicious
- Easy to make
- Better the next day
- Loaded with Achaar flavour
- A unique Chicken recipe
Ingredients
Chicken – As Chicken is high in protein, I try and include it in our everyday meals. And therefore I keep looking for different curries to make. The Chicken in this Achari Masala tastes too good. I generally use chicken with the bone to make curries but you can go for boneless chicken too.
Oil – Make this chicken curry in mustard oil, it adds to the flavour.
Heat the oil till it’s smoking hot, before you put other ingredients, as the mustard oil tends to give a raw taste if not heated properly in the recipes.
But if you don’t have mustard oil, you can use any vegetable oil to make this curry.
Whole Spices – We will use some spices that are used to make Achaar, as it gives it that Achari Flavour. These spices are fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and black onion seeds.
Achaar Masala – Apart from the dry Achari Masala Mix, I recommend adding some already prepared Achaar Masala from your mango pickle to enhance the taste of this curry.
Curd, Onion, and Tomato – The base of this curry is made with these three ingredients, which complement the pickled masala.
Other Ingredients – Other than the above-mentioned ingredients, we will need ginger garlic paste, salt, red chili powder, all-purpose flour, lemon juice, and fresh coriander.
Step by Step Recipe
Heat oil in a pan.
Once the oil shot, add fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and black onion seeds and let them crackle for a few seconds.
Add onion and fry until slightly browned.
Add ginger-garlic paste and fry until onions turn golden brown.
Add chicken and fry on high heat for 3-4 minutes.
Add tomato, salt, and achari masala along with ½ cup of water and cover and cook for 10 mins.
Add red chilli powder and yogurt whisked with maida in the pan.
Cover and cook until chicken is done.
Add lemon juice and masala from the pickle and remove the pan from heat.
Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve hot with phulke or steamed rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have always used Mango Pickle Masala, as it has the right amount of tanginess and spiciness. You can also try using green chili pickle masala, but I think Mango Pickle will taste the best.
You can use any of them. Both the options works in this Achari Curry.
In this version, you can simply avoid adding yogurt and make the curry base with just tomatoes and onions.
Instead of chopped tomatoes, use tomato puree for a smooth curry. If you like it to be chunky, you can add in finely chopped tomatoes too.
Storing Suggestions
This Curry actually tastes better the next day, as the Achaar tastes become more prominent. You can store it for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat it in a pan or microwave, before serving.
This Curry is not recommended to freeze, as the curd in it will split while thawing the curry.
Serving Suggestions
Achari Chicken or Achari Murgh tastes great with all Indian Bread, such as Phulka, Tawa Paratha, Laccha Paratha, Tandoori Roti, Naan, Missi Roti or any other bread that you prefer to serve it with.
It tastes incredibly good with Steamed Rice, Matar Pulao and Jeera Rice too.
You can also serve a Raita and Lacchedar Pyaaz on the side to complete this meal.
If you like this recipe, do make it at home and let me know how you liked it.
Also, tell me if you would like to have more of such unique Chicken recipes.
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Recipe Card
Achari Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg Chicken (Curry cut)
- 5 tbsp Mustard Oil
- ¼ tsp Fenugreek Seeds
- ½ tsp Fennel Seeds
- ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
- ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
- ¼ tsp Black Onion Seeds / Kalounji
- 2 cups Onion (Thinly sliced)
- 2 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 1 cup Tomato (Chopped)
- 3 tbsp Achari Masala
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 cup Curd
- 1 tsp All Purpose Flour / Maida
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tbsp Masala from pickle
- Fresh Coriander (Chopped)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan.
- Once the oil shot, add fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and black onion seeds and let them crackle for a few seconds.
- Add onion and fry until slightly browned.
- Add ginger garlic paste and fry until onions turns golden brown.
- Add chicken and fry on high heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Add tomato, salt and achari masala long with ½ cup of water and cover and cook for 10 mins.
- Add red chilli powder and curd whisked with maida in the pan.
- Cover and cook until chicken is done.
- Add lemon juice and masala from pickle and remove the pan from heat.
- Garnish with fresh coriander.
- Serve hot with phulke or steamed rice.
