Achari Chicken

5 from 3 votes

Authentic Achari Chicken recipe with easy spice mix. This north Indian curry tastes so ethereal and flavorful and you can prepare it in one pot in 45 minutes. It is so good to eat with naan or rice.

Course Dinner Recipes

Cuisine North Indian, Pakistani, Punjabi

Keyword Achari Chicken

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings Servings

Calories 505kcal

Author Mariam Sodawater

Ingredients

Achari Masala

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds sauf
5 black pepper
½ tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves sukhi meethi
½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili or paprika
½-1 teaspoon red chili flakes or red chili powder
½ teaspoon salt more to taste

For Achari Chicken

⅓ cup oil preferably mustard oil , smoke to remove pungent smell.
½ teaspoon mustard seed kali rai
¼ teaspoon nigella seeds kalonji
⅛ teaspoon fenugreek seeds methi dana
½ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
½ tablespoon green chili paste
¾ cup chopped onion
½ kg skinless chicken
3 medium tomato blended in a process to make puree
5 big green chilies less spicy variety
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon brown sugar
½ cup yogurt whipped until smooth
Ginger slices and Cilantro to garnish

Instructions

For Achari Masala

Roast coriander, cumin, fennel, and pepper in a pan for a minute until fragrant. Keep stirring.
Transfer the roasted spices to a motor (alternately, you can use a food processor too.) Add the remaining spices chili flakes, Kashmiri chili, salt, and fenugreek leaves. Crush them and transfer them to a jar, achari masala is ready.

For Achari Chicken

In a pan fry the ginger garlic paste in the oil, then add mustard, nigella, and fenugreek seeds. Let it sizzle then add green chili paste and chopped onions.
Continue to cook for 5 minutes until the onions are slightly golden. Then add the chicken and half of the spice mix. Continue to fry until the chicken changes its color.
Now add tomato puree and mix well. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes until the chicken is tender.

For Filling Chilies

Meanwhile, make a slit in the big chilies and remove the seeds. Mix lemon juice in the remaining spice mix and fill in the chilies. (Wear gloves while handling the chilies.) Set aside.
When the chicken is tender add whipped yogurt, mix it well. Cover and cook on low heat for a few minutes until a layer of oil separates on the top.
Now place the filled chilies on top without mixing. Cover the pot and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Then switch off the heat. Let the chilies continue to soften in steam until served.

Video

Notes

Serve with rice or naan and pair with a fresh salad like kachumbar.

Oil: Authentically mustard oil is used, but any neutral oil or grape seed oil will do.
Chicken: Bone-in chicken taste great and bone release natural juices to enhance the taste. For the boneless version use chicken thigh pieces.
Big chilies: I used the bigger sized dark green chilies which are less spicy. Look for something similar. If eating chilies is not your thing, skip this step altogether.
Lemon juice: I used lemon juice to mix in the masala for chilies, authentically, amchor powder (raw mango powder) is used.
Yogurt: I used Indian slightly sour yogurt, if using Greek yogurt use less.
Brown sugar: This ingredient adds the fermented sweetness of a pickle to the curry. Substitute this with jaggery powder. You can skip this too.
Seeds: I used mustard, nigella, and fenugreek. You skip any of these seeds if not available.

Nutrition