Chicken Achar
As a Nepali, we love our achars.
We eat them with rice, with chiura, with roti, and honestly, with pretty much anything.
It’s more than just a side; it’s that spicy little bite that ties the whole plate together.
Meat achar has a special place.
Even a basic plate of rice and dal feels like a proper meal with a spoonful of this on the side.
If that’s the kind of comfort you’re craving, this recipe is exactly what you need.
I am using air-fryer, but if you’d rather fry the chicken, go for it, it’ll taste amazing, too.
I just lean toward the air fryer these days, trying to be a bit healthier I guess :).
Ingredients
Spices: Cumin seeds, cumin powder, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powder, sesame seeds, red chili powder, salt, and vinegar.
Chicken: Boneless chicken thigh cut into small pieces.
Oil: Mustard oil or vegetable oil.
Instructions
- In a bowl, marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric, chili powder, cumin powder, and coriander powder.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 (200°C) and air fry for 18 minutes, flipping halfway through. The chicken should be cooked through and slightly golden.
- In a dry pan over low heat, roast spices until they smell fragrant, then take them out.
- Now dry roast the red chillies in the same pan.
- Let everything cool for a bit, then blend it all into a powder.
- Heat oil in a pan.
- Add sliced garlic and ginger and fry until lightly crispy and fragrant.
- Remove and set aside.
- In the same oil, add the toasted achar masala, turmeric powder and red chili powder.
- Cook on low heat for about 20–30 seconds.
- Next, add the air-fried chicken and mix everything together until coated.
- Finally, add the crispy garlic and ginger back in and give everything one final mix.
- Taste and adjust salt if needed.
Note: I like to throw in some unsalted peanuts at this point for a bit of crunch, but that’s totally up to you.
- Transfer the chicken achar into a glass container or jar and let it sit for 1 to 3 hours before eating, if you can wait. The flavor gets even better as it sits.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with chiura, rice, bhuja or enjoy it as a spicy snack.
Other Recipes
Ingredients
Chicken
- 500 g chicken thighs
Spices For Meat Marination
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp salt
Masala
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp sichuan pepper (timmur)
- ½ tbsp salt
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chili powder
Oil
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Other
- 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (35g)
- 1.5 inch ginger, sliced thinly (23g)
- 10 red chili
- 1½ tbsp vinegar
Instructions
Marinate the chicken
- In a bowl, marinate the chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces . Add spices and Mix well so every piece is coated and let it sit for 10 minutes.500 g chicken thighs , ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp red chili powder
Air fry the chicken
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (200°C).
- Air fry the chicken for 18 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- The chicken should be cooked through and slightly golden.
Dry roast the achar masala
- In a dry pan over low heat, roast the spices until fragrant.1 tbsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 tbsp sesame seeds, ½ tsp fenugreek seeds, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp sichuan pepper (timmur)
- Stir often so nothing burns, especially the fenugreek which turns bitter fast.
- Remove the spices and on the same pan dry roast chili.10 red chili
- Let the spices and red chili cool for a few minutes, then blend or grind them into a coarse powder.
Crisp the garlic and ginger
- Heat oil in a pan.½ cup vegetable oil
- Add the garlic and ginger, and fry until lightly crispy and fragrant.10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (35g), 1.5 inch ginger, sliced thinly (23g)
- Remove from the pan and set aside.
Combine everything
- In the same oil, add the ground achar masala and other spices cook on low heat for about 20 to 30 seconds, just until you smell it bloom.1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chili powder
- Next add the air-fried chicken and mix until every piece is coated in the masala.
- Next, add the crispy garlic and ginger, then season with salt to taste.½ tbsp salt
- Mix everything through, take it off the heat, and let it cool down before stirring in the vinegar.1½ tbsp vinegar
- Transfer the chicken achar into a glass container or jar and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
If you tried this recipe, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below. If you liked it, remember to rate the recipe. Your feedback helps other readers decide if they want to make this recipe. Thank you!
𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚛: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚜 𝙸 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝙽𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚕𝚒 𝚌𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎. 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚕𝚕 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚘!