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Achari Masala (Indian Pickling Spice Mix) + Video

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Achari Masala is a mix of Indian spices which is used to pickle variety of ingredients. This masala can be used to flavor various curries and starters. Make this amazing homemade version and add it in your regular food and see how it takes the taste to next level. Here is a video recipe to make it.

Side view of Achari Masala in a jar
Achar or pickle has been an Indian tradition and most households have a family recipe for different varieties of pickles. The blend of different spices that is used to pickle is called the Achari masala.

Apart from using this masala in the pickle, we can use it to enhance the flavor of curries, pulses and make a variety of starters. It gives a typical Achari taste to the dish which is slightly tangy, bitter and salty at the same time.

This masala has spices like fennel, fenugreek, onion seeds etc which are used in pickling and hence it gives a very pickle like taste to whatever it is added to. You can also use Achari Masala, for making Achari Chole, Achari Aloo, Achari Paneer et al.

Close up view of achari masala in a jar

This homemade achari masala is a must have in my pantry and trust me that no store bought masala can even come close to this homemade deal. You can make a big batch of this spice mix and keep adding in whatever you cook on a daily basis and see the transformation it brings to your dish.

It is super easy to prepare Achari Masala at home and once you make it, you would feel that there is no point for buying substandard Achari Masala which are available ready made in the stores. Do try it at home and do let me know how was your experience. Here is the simple recipe to make it.

Tips to make best Achari Masala at home

Use best quality Kashmiri Dry Red Chillies to make the masala. The colour of the masala comes from them.

Roast the spices on medium low heat to release the flavours. Roasting them on high heat will burn them and the flavour will be not as good.

If the colour of your masala is still not that good, add some Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder to it and mix well.

Grind the masala to a coarse powder and not very smooth for best flavours.

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How to make Achari Masala Step by Step

Dry roast dry red chilies, coriander seeds, onion seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin till slightly browned and fragrant.

Mustard seeds, dry red chillies, fenugreek seeds, onion seeds, mustard seeds and cumin seeds added in a pan for dry roasting

Cool for 5 minutes.

Roasted spices in the pan

Blend in a blender with rest of the ingredients to make a coarse powder. Store in an airtight container for up to a month in a cool and dry place or refrigerate it for about 2 months.

Roasted spices cooled and added in a blender

salt, turmeric powder, dry mango powder and hing added in the blender

All the spies blended together to make achari masala in a blender

Achari Masala Video Recipe

Achari Masala Recipe

Achari Masala
4.84 from 6 votes
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Achari Masala

Achari Masala is a mix of Indian spices which is used to pickle variety of ingredients. This masala can be used to flavor various curries and starters. Make this amazing homemade version and add it in your regular food.

Course Basics
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 20 servings
Calories 45 kcal
Author Neha Mathur

Ingredients

  • 16-18 Kashmiri Dry Red Chillies
  • 2 tbsp Coriander Seeds
  • 2 tsp Onion Seeds
  • 6 tbsp Fennel Seeds
  • 4 tbsp Mustard Seeds
  • 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
  • 6 tbsp Cumin Seeds
  • 4 tbsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
  • 1 tsp Hing
  • 4 tsp Dry Mango Powder

Instructions

  1. Dry roast dry red chillies, coriander seeds, onion seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin till slightly browned and fragrant.

  2. Cool for 5 minutes.

  3. Blend in a blender with rest of the ingredients to make a coarse powder.

  4. Store in an airtight container for up to a month in a cool and dry place or refrigerate it for about 2 months.

  5. You can add this powder in curries, dal and can make various starters.

Nutrition Facts
Achari Masala
Amount Per Serving
Calories 45 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 2%
Sodium 1404mg 59%
Potassium 217mg 6%
Total Carbohydrates 7g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 2g
Protein 1g 2%
Vitamin A 7.3%
Vitamin C 63.9%
Calcium 5.6%
Iron 14.5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Are you making this recipe? I LOVE to see your creations so snap a photo and tag Whiskaffair on Instagram with the hashtag #Whiskaffair and please give a star rating below ★. You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for more such easy recipes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. duru jassal

    December 9, 2013 at 1:54 pm

    love the flavour, sometimes i use the masala from the pickle to season my dal n veggies and also add to chicken, paneer…..almost anything, thanks, will make this too.

    Reply

  4. Lallie Pillay

    November 10, 2016 at 7:24 am


    hI

    tHANK YOU FOR SHARING THESE BEAUTIFUL RECIPES- iTS LIKE MUSIC IN YOUR MOUTH THE DIFFERENT SPICE MAKING FOOD SO TASTY

    Reply

  5. Reddappa

    May 7, 2018 at 7:09 am


    Hi Neha,

    Thanks for the wonderful recipe, I am very much inspired by your recipes and I proudly say this is my 1st recipe of my cooking life.
    I have a doubt , Mine didnot turned red in colour, is it maybe because of less red chillies added? I added everything as mentioned in the ingredients list.

    Thanks in advance for your reply.

    Reply

    • Neha Mathur

      May 7, 2018 at 10:02 am

      Hi, Thnx for your kind words. The colour of this masala comes from the variety of dried red chilli used. I have used very good quality Kashmiri Red Chilies for this one. If your colour is still not red, you can try adding some powdered Kashmiri mirch powder to your masala and skip the dried chillies.

      Reply

      • Reddappa Reddy

        May 7, 2018 at 1:19 pm

        Thanks Nehaji, for my next batch I will try to add Kashmiri mirch powder as you explained to get this texture. (The texture from your recipe is mouth watering , So i want to achieve the same colour) 🙂

        Reply

        • Neha Mathur

          May 8, 2018 at 4:52 am

          I am sure you will get it. I have also updated the recipe with ore details. Please do let me know if you want me to add anything else.

          Reply

  6. Bobo31

    May 20, 2018 at 2:51 pm


    Your blog is amazing I have made so many of your recipes and they are always crowd pleasers. Thank you so much for sharing. Please don’t stop.

    Reply

  8. Pradipto

    December 25, 2018 at 5:14 pm

    I was totally unaware that such a thing as a pickle spice existed. While surfing the net I stumbled upon ‘achari alu’ which contained achar masala as one of its ingredients. My search for home made pickle spice recipe brought me to your blog. I will try this out for sure. Is onion seed a rare item?

    Reply

  9. Divya

    March 25, 2019 at 1:06 am

    Hi Neha, somehow my masala turned out bitter. I am not sure why, maybe it got a little more roasted. Please suggest on how I can remove the bitterness.

    Thank you!

    Reply

    • Neha Mathur

      March 26, 2019 at 7:38 am

      Hi Divya, it’s very unfortunate to hear this. I hope you followed the measurements correctly. If fenugreek seeds, onion seeds and mustard seeds are added in excess, the masala can become bitter. Do try to stick to the given measurements when you make it next and let me know if it works. Thnx

      Reply

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