My achari murgh (chicken curry in pickling spices) packs a punch with its bold flavours. This popular chicken curry is one of those recipes that delivers exceptional taste with minimal ingredients and efforts. At least that’s how I make mine and it’s always turned out finger licking yummy. In fact, this is an amazing chicken recipe to make for your next dinner party. This spicy curry is quick and easy to make, moreover you won’t even need to marinate the chicken. Therefore, this is a life saver of a recipe when you have other things to cook or do, when organising a dinner. Besides, the achari chicken is a yummy weekend meal option too. And it pairs deliciously with both rice and Indian flatbreads. You could serve a cooling masala yoghurt on the side too, to cool off the heat from the curry.
Not only is the curry delicious, but there’s another element in my achari murgh (chicken curry in pickling spices) that makes it extra special. And it is the pickle stuffed chilis in the curry. These are the chilis that aren’t hot, but the ones that taste and smell more like peppers. I like to use padron peppers, they are not hot and are wide enough to be stuffed easily too. But you could use any variety that’s easily available. These stuffed chilis, slightly poached in the achari curry tastes absolutely yummy when bit into. And, I feel it elevates the taste of the curry to another level!
So, if you are looking for a curry to serve to impress or simply try a different one, this is your answer. I love mopping it up with some naan, while the husband prefers a peas pulao. You can have it with either and enjoy a satisfying chicken dinner.
Achari murgh
I love making my achari murgh in mustard oil. The sweetness of the oil, once smoked well, really enhances the flavour of the curry. Additionally, since this chicken curry is made in whole spices, paanch phoron, and pickle oil it is very fragrant and very yummy. Also, before cooking, I like rubbing the chicken pieces in a basic marinade of yoghurt, turmeric, lemon juice and salt. This small step ensures the chicken is able to absorb these flavours and also the yoghurt helps in tenderising the meat. Coming to the achar or the pickle oil that I have used here. I have added carrot pickle oil to my curry. The reason I use the oil and not the achar masala is, that don’t I want my curry to be heavily spicy. Thereby making this fragrant chicken curry a great option to have even for lunch.
Moreover, since there are achar masala stuffed chilis also, only the pickle oil in the curry does the magic. Now, I have used carrot pickle, but you could use any that you have available with you. Some common and popular options are garlic, mango, tomato and chili pickles. If you are looking to make your curry really high on the heat, then you could go for the chili pickle oil, else any other vegetable/fruit achar is a good option. With such a simple recipe, another bit that makes a huge difference is using chicken on the bone pieces. I have used chicken drumsticks, but curry cut pieces work the best. No matter which you decide to use, make sure it isn’t boneless. The flavour of the bones also add tons of flavour to this otherwise simple chicken curry recipe.
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My achari chicken curry is great recipe to try out for yourselves and your loved ones, soon. And I promise this one is going to win you accolades with it’s yummy, spicy flavours. You could keep the curry as thin or thick as you like, however, I like keeping mine semi-thick. This makes it an ideal side dish for both rice and flatbreads.
Here are some more chicken recipes that you might like,
If you happen to try any of my recipes, I’d love to hear back from you. You could drop a line of your feedback in the comments section below or share your food pictures with me over on Instagram.
Eat hearty!
Achari murgh (chicken curry in pickling spices)
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken drumsticks or curry cut pieces
- 1½ cups onions sliced
- 2 tbsp yoghurt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup tomato thinly sliced
- 3-4 chilis slit
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tbsp pickle oil any pickle will do
- 6-7 thick, non-spicy chilis*
- 1 tbsp pickle masala
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp paanch phoron
- 2-3 dried red chilis
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Massage the chicken pieces with the lemon juice, turmeric powder, slit chilis, yoghurt and a teaspoon of salt. Keep this aside until needed
- Wash the padron peppers (thick chilis) well and pat dry. Slit them from the centre and stuff them with ½ tsp of the pickle masala, each. Keep aside
- Heat the cooking pot with the oil until it smokes, lower the flame and add the paanch phoron, dried chilis and bay leaves
- When these turn fragrant add the onions and fry until they turn golden brown. Next add the ginger garlic paste and fry for couple more minutes
- Once their raw smell goes off, add the sliced tomatoes, along with 2-3 tbsp of water and cook until they completely soften
- Then add the marinated chicken drumsticks and mix well on a high flame. When no longer pink, add a cup of water, salt to taste, cover and cook over medium flame until cooked
- Finally add the stuffed chilis, the pickle oil, gently mix in and simmer on low flame for 5-7 minutes
- Remove from flame and serve your lip smacking achari murgh (chicken in pickling spices) with rice/rotis or any Indian flatbreads. Enjoy!
Notes
- *I have used padron peppers here
- Paanch phoron is a Bengali whole spice mix made up of equal quantities of nigella seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds and cumin seeds. You will need two tablespoons of this for this recipe
- You can use any achaar (pickle) for the curry. I have used carrot pickle, however garlic, chili, mango pickles also work well in this recipe
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon
- 1 cup = 250 millilitres
