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chicken achar recipe nepali

Nepali Chicken Achar (Kukhura Ko Achar)

This air fryer Nepali chicken achar is the kind of side dish that makes everything on the plate taste better. Quick to put together and even better the next day.
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CourseSide
CuisineNepali
CategoryPickle
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings10
Calories248kcal

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 500 g chicken thighs

Spices For Meat Marination

Masala

Oil

  • ½ cup vegetable oil

Other

  • 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (35g)
  • 1.5 inch ginger, sliced thinly (23g)
  • 10 red chili
  • 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

#. I'm doing it air-fried, but feel free to pan-fry if you prefer.
#. Don't fry it too much as it dries out the meat.
#. Please adjust the chilli to your taste.
#. I love adding peanuts at this stage for extra crunch, but feel free to leave them out.
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and may not be exact.

Nutrition

Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 515mg | Potassium: 315mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 568IU | Vitamin C: 66mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg
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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!