Achari Masala is a mix of Indian spices which is used to pickle a variety of ingredients. This masala can be used to flavour various curries and starters. Make this amazing homemade version and add it in your regular food and see how it takes the taste to the next level. Here is how to make it.
Apart from using this masala in the pickle, we can use it to enhance the flavour of curries, pulses and make a variety of starters.
It gives a typical tangy 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.
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 is 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.
Pro Tips by Neha
Use the best quality Kashmiri Dry Red Chillies to make the masala. The colour of the masala comes from them. I never use regular chilli powder to make this masala.
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.
Fenugreek seeds and nigella seeds add bitterness to this masala. So keep their quantity to a minimum.
Grind the masala to a coarse powder and not very smooth for best flavours.
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Step by Step Recipe
Dry roast dry red chilies, coriander seeds, onion seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin on medium heat till slightly browned and fragrant.
Cool for 5 minutes.
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.
Achari Masala Recipe
Equipment
- Blender
- Frying Pan
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
- Dry roast dry red chillies, coriander seeds, onion seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin till slightly browned and fragrant.
- Cool for 5 minutes.
- 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.
- You can add this powder in curries, dal and can make various starters.
Notes
Vidya Chandrahas
Masala looks very flavorful .
First time here.happily following you…follow me back Neha.
duru jassal
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.
amita sharma
I have tried the masala in stuffed parathas and they taste awesome.
Your recipe for masala is nice.
Lallie Pillay
hI
tHANK YOU FOR SHARING THESE BEAUTIFUL RECIPES- iTS LIKE MUSIC IN YOUR MOUTH THE DIFFERENT SPICE MAKING FOOD SO TASTY
Reddappa
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.
Neha Mathur
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.
Reddappa Reddy
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) 🙂
Neha Mathur
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.
Bobo31
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.
Neha Mathur
Thnx a lot for trying out the recipes 🙂
Naseema
What is the alternative for onion seeds
Neha Mathur
There is no alternative but you can skip adding them.
Pradipto
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?
Neha Mathur
Sure. Do try. Onion seed is kalonji.
Divya
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!
Neha Mathur
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
Blue Sparrow
Hi What is the Hindi term for fennel seeds?
Neha Mathur
It’s Saunf.
Priyanka
Thank you for your recipie. Made the masala yesterday for chicken. It is very tasty. Putting some in a jar to gift to a friend, who is moving.
Neha Mathur
Nice 🙂
Pratham
It’s very nice i like it
Neha Mathur
Thanks
Ramakrishna
Thanks for the recipe. It’s too good. This helped me prepare the “Achari Turai” recipe.
Neha Mathur
It’s a very versatile powder 🙂
Farida Rajabali
I cannot have chillies at all is it ok if I skip and for red colour maybe add Paprika
Neha Mathur
Yes, sure.
Ronak
Hey Neha,
Thanks for this recipe. I made it and it tastes amazing. However, the colour isn’t as red as yours. I didn’t have whole Kashmiri red chillies, so used the Andhra variety. But I added almost 6 tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder, and it’s still very green in colour. I’d have to add maybe 20 tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder for the red colour.
Are the measurements for cumin, fennel and coriander seeds in tbsp or tsp? I feel if it were tsp, then I’d get the red colour.
Neha Mathur
The colour of this masala depends totally on the quality of chillis used. Do try to make it with only Kashmiri Chilli Next time.