Achari Chicken Recipe

 This Achari Chicken recipe is quick and easy to make at home without requiring expensive ingredients. To create a beautifully aromatic and flavorful achari spice mix that can be used for ANY achari dish, all you need are the standard ingredients that you probably already have if you cook curry at home frequently, as well as a few spices that you might or might not use very often.

The tangy chicken curry known as Achari Chicken is made with a unique combination of spices to replicate the flavor of Indian and Pakistani pickles.

How to make Achari Chicken Recipe

The special achari spice mixture is made first in my recipe. Grind the following spices in a grinder or pestle and mortar: cumin seeds (jeera), nigella seeds (kalonji), fennel seeds (saunf), and black mustard seeds (rai). The recipe card below contains the precise ratio.

Combine yogurt, the spice mixture we just made, salt, turmeric, coriander powder, green chili paste, ginger paste, and garlic paste in a bowl. To allow the flavors to fully absorb into the chicken, place this in the refrigerator for at least four hours and up to 24 hours.

In a deep pot or pan, heat some oil when you are ready to cook. Sauté the diced onions over medium-high heat until they turn a dark brown color.

Include the mixture of marinated chicken. This should be sautéed over high heat until the chicken is no longer pink and the mixture looks very dry.

Combine 1/2 cup of water and tomato concentrate. You can also use tomatoes instead of tomato concentrate; in this case, you only need to add about 1/8 cup of water (but watch for extra dryness and add more!).

Cover everything and cook for 25 minutes on low.

The green chilies can be made while the chicken is cooking. Although this step is optional, it adds a lot of flavor to any Achari dish—many authentic recipes call for stuffed chilies.

Chaat masala and lemon juice should be combined. Alternatively, you can make more of the achari spice mix we made earlier and use that here if you don't have chaat masala. Discard this mixture.

Using a knife, cut a slit that runs lengthwise down one side of some green, juicy chilies. Apply pressure with your fingers to the top and bottom of the chili to open the slit without damaging it. Put 2-3 teaspoons of the mixture with the lemon juice into the slit, then release it and set it aside.

Remove the lid and add the green chilies once the chicken has finished cooking. Cover once more, and cook everything over low heat for five more minutes.

It's time for your Achari Chicken! Serve hot and garnish with fresh coriander.