Achari Chicken or Indian Chicken Pickle
Achari chicken is oftentimes a street food in Punjab; I use thighs, cook them in pickled spices, it is hot, sour & all sorts of moreish!
This 40-minute curry is perfect with paratha or chapati, but it also makes for a stunning filling for a sandwich or baguette.
Indian Inspired Chicken in Pickle Spices
This achari chicken recipe has been here for a long time, and it is one of my favourite recipes.
I cook it all of the time, and as a result, it gets revisited every couple of years. It is a "sister" recipe to my achar gosht and uses chicken rather than lamb.
All of the marinating goes out the window, which means that this almost dry achari murgh curry is quicker to both prepare and cook than the lamb version.
The whole dish takes 35-40 minutes to cook and prepare.
This version is loosely based on the Punjabi variant of achari chicken, but as with all of my recipes, it is far from "authentic" to anything other than me. It is traditionally made with a whole chicken cut into pieces, but boneless chicken thighs turn this into a cracking midweek dinner for two.
The hot and sour combination is a favourite of mine. It features in other favourite curry recipes like my pork vindaloo and chicken pathia recipes!
The flavour is incredible, and the chicken stays almost unbelievably moist and juicy, and the cooking process leaves your house smelling amazing!
The dried Kashmiri chillies add a little smokiness to the dish as well as a little heat, and the onions provide a fantastic sweetness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an alternative to malt vinegar?
There is nothing quite like the flavour of malt vinegar, but you could use either cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
If I were using these, I would increase the jaggery just a little to try and replace some of the almost caramel-like malt flavour from the vinegar.
What is jaggery?
Jaggery is unrefined sugar commonly used across the Indian subcontinent, along with other areas of the world.
It is often sold in a solid block and has a flavour that is halfway between treacle and caramel. You could replace it with dark brown sugar if you can't or do not want to fill your cupboard!
Can this be made in advance?
Yes, and it improves with time, too! Stick this in the fridge for a day or two, then gently reheat and the flavours really intensify.
Do I have to cook this in a wok?
No, you could use a frying pan, but make it a fairly large one.
Can I use chicken breast?
Yes, but it does not pack the same amount of flavour as chicken thighs.
Can I reduce or increase the chilli?
Absolutely, yes! Tolerance to chilli is incredibly personal; you should use whatever chillies fit within your comfort levels. Eating this achari chicken recipe is meant to be a joy, not a challenge!
Serving Suggestions.
As far as I am concerned, achari chicken is my dream filling for a wrap. I don’t even care what it is wrapped in, chapati, paratha or a plain old tortilla, so long as it has chicken pickle, I’m a happy boy.
I like to add some kachumber salad and a mint raitia, although I skip the cucumber in the raita.
However, it is far more than just a filling for a wrap; achari murgh works fantastically as a main course.
Served with something like Bombay potatoes or aloo methi makes this a glorious slap-up dinner.
Of course, you could serve this with rice too; this delicious pilau rice would be perfect.
You could even scale this recipe up and use this murgh achari to replace the chicken element in my chicken tikka biriyani recipe!
Don't forget the poppadoms for the full British Indian curry house experience!
Equipment Used
I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/Stovetop.
- Wok, I use a large carbon steel wok.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Mixing and prep bowls.
- Serving and stirring spoons.
- Pestle and mortar.
- A combination of weighing scales, measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
Achari Chicken or Chicken Pickle Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g Chicken Thigh Meat 12oz
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Coriander
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Medium Onions 300g Total
- 30 g Ginger 1 Thumb-sized piece
- 8 Garlic Cloves
- 2 Whole Green Chilli Peppers
- 1 Medium Tomato 100-125g
- 75 ml Ground Nut Oil ⅓ Cup
- 6 Dried Red Chilli Peppers
- ½ teaspoon Brown Mustard Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Fennel Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Onion Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Dried Pomegranate Seeds Anardana
- 6 Curry Leaves
- 1-2 tablespoon Tomato Puree
- 3-4 tablespoon Malt Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Jaggery
- 75 ml Water ⅓ Cup
- 1 Large Bunch of Coriander
Instructions
- Slice the chicken thighs into 5cm strips approximately 7-10mm in profile.
- Add the cumin, coriander, and salt to the chicken, then mix and allow to sit whilst you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Cut the onion in half, peel it, then slice it into half-moon shapes 5mm (¼") thick.
- Peel the garlic and ginger and pound in a pestle and mortar to form a paste.
- Cut the green chilli peppers in half lengthways.
- Cut the tomato into 8 wedges, then cut out the seeds and discard them. Cut the remaining flesh into a 5-7mm dice.
- Heat the oil in a wok over a medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the dried chillies along with the mustard, cumin, pomegranate, fennel and fenugreek seeds.
- As soon as the seeds begin to crackle, add the curry leaves and onion, then cook for 5 minutes
- Add the chicken, reduce the heat to medium, stir well, then cook for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
- Add the garlic and ginger paste, tomato paste, green chillies and tomato flesh, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the vinegar, water and add the jaggery, then stir well and cook on low-medium for 10 minutes.
- Roughly chop the coriander and stir it through the chicken just before serving.
Hi Brian,
I've only just stumbled across your site when searching for a vegetable karahi recipe. The site looks fantastic and I can't wait to start using these recipes, so it's a big 'Hi' and 'thank you' from me.
Cheers,
Keith Harding
Glad you have found me Keith, enjoy 🙂
Hi Brian, I cooked this last night, was really good! used a bit less oil and vinegar, lots of crushed dried birds eye chilli and added spinach at the end. will cook again!
thanks, Dan
Glad you enjoyed it Dan 🙂
Hi Brian, love the recipe. some advice please. You have onions in the cooking instructions but not the ingredients. I presume however many I use they need to be very finely chopped?
I'm so sorry Peter, I've been playing around with different layouts in my recipes and it would seem I deleted part of this one! Glad you like it, I use slices of onion in this recipe, I have updated the recipe card to hopefully clear everything up 🙂
Would love to try this, is it meant for storing for long periods in the fridge? Also is Cider vinegar the same as Apple Cider vinegar?
Hey Priya... Originally it was a street food that would have been preserved to some extent by the vinegar. To be perfectly honest I would not treat it that way today and ensure that all chicken is kept refrigerated after being cooked.
As for the vinegar, as I understand it yes they are the same thing. Although this works well with lots of different vinegars, so feel free to experiment 🙂
Enjoy Brian
My mum did this growing up. She used to also do this with Fish. She would marinate the fish (firm white fish - monk fish is great) with turmeric, chilli powder & salt (very simple), fry in oil and keep aside. She would make the pickle masala, flake the fish into pieces and mix together. Whatever was left after the family started on it (which wasn't very much), she would put into clean, sterilised bottles and in the fridge. We would then have it on toast or even like a condiment on the side with rice & dhal. Very, very yummy!!!
Holy crap, doing this with fish sounds incredible! Monkfish is a tough find here in rural landlocked Hungary but I think it would work really well with catfish which is in many ways similar and very meaty. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Thomas, does your mum use the same pickle masala, would you care to add the recipe here please?
Oh wow, it's not one I have heard of either but sounds delicious! I can see your description above of it being a bit like a quick confit with spices, I can definitely see that. And a great filling for sure!
Interesting recipe Brian, especially since the chicken does not need to be refrigerated. We like to go for picnics and I love to bring wraps but if the day is too hot I cannot risk to make them with chicken. This sounds the perfect recipe for it, I love Indian flavours
I can imagine this dish is really tangy with the vinegar and spices. It's such an unusual combination and I can't wait to try. I'll be using tortillas as we love wrapping things up. It's good to see how chutney should really be used - I was watching an Indian cookery programme and was surprised to hear that chutney is often served at the end of a meal and not at the start!
Oh wow, it's not one I have heard of either but sounds delicious! I can see your description above of it being a bit like a quick confit with spices, I can definitely see that. And a great filling for sure!
It was a new one to me to but I love new techniques and ideas and of course Indian flavours, it really is a great filling for a wrap or sandwich.
Interesting recipe Brian, especially since the chicken does not need to be refrigerated. We like to go for picnics and I love to bring wraps but if the day is too hot I cannot risk to make them with chicken. This sounds the perfect recipe for it, I love Indian flavours
Thanks Laura... It is a very unusual recipe but fabulous big flavours and can totally see the astringent sauce providing a degree of pickling and adding to the shelf life. Not that it ever lasts that long 😉
I can imagine this dish is really tangy with the vinegar and spices. It's such an unusual combination and I can't wait to try. I'll be using tortillas as we love wrapping things up. It's good to see how chutney should really be used - I was watching an Indian cookery programme and was surprised to hear that chutney is often served at the end of a meal and not at the start!
I've never heard of chutneys being served at the end of a meal, but India is a big old place with a population over a billion with a huge variety in it's food so it would not surprise me.
Oh, sweet, Jesus! That looks amazing, Brian! So nice for you to partner with Whitney - sorry I missed the option to win. 🙂
Thanks Byron, same you missed it... Was great to work with Whitney she cooks my kinda food 🙂
This is the third time this week an Indian pickle dish has come up in life for me. Maybe it's a sign from the universe? The photos are just stunning!
Really, excellent... It is definitely a message 🙂 Glad you like the pictures.
I LOVE the sound of this. I don't cook Indian often, even though it's one of my favorite cuisines!
I cook Indian flavours all of the time, I guess that is down to the fact that I lived in an area of a City with a large Indian/Pakistani community and many of my friends at school were part of that community... So dinner at a friends was a glorious exotic treat that I loved!
This looks amazing but I´m not sure if I could find all the ingredients here in Spain where we live.. I need to check because I´ve been craving a good curry lately!!
It may take a little hunting but I am sure you will find it on a major City, I have to make a 320km round trip to Budapest to keep my spice cupboard stocked, but I love Indian food so it is well worth it for me 🙂
Brian this sounds amazing - I love how you recommend it as wrap filling ... can I just tell you how much I'm craving this right now? And that steam shot is beautiful!
Thanks Paige... It is traditionally served in a paratha so it is traditionally a wrap filling, however I don't care what it is wrapped in so long as I can have some 😀
That looks so good. Love the photo with the steam coming off. I'm a big fan of Indian food.
Me too Christie, glad you like the shot 🙂
That such a good looking dish, I've gotta try it.
Cheers Sara.
Oh man this looks insane! Love the spice combos...and I don't need to tell you that photo is ridiculous.
THanks Derek, I am kicking myself to be honest for not getting a deeper DOF on the shot! The flavours in this dish really are amazing I love it 🙂
I love all your flavors going on with this chicken dish! Hot and spicy... just the way I like it. 🙂
Thanks Ramona this is rather special.
I've never tried Indian food before. Not even in a restaurant. I'm still kind of wary to step outside of my comfort zone but this looks so good! I'll definitely have to take a leap and try it. Pinning!
Oooo you must fix that, I love Indian food... Wonderfully complex and comforting 🙂
Looks delicious, Brian.
Cheers Jeff 🙂
I am completely impressed with your lovely photos, as usual Brian! Indian cuisine is really new to me.I have never cooked anything Indian, except Naan bread. I don't recognize some of the spices, but the Meat filling looks tremendous! I may have to find a shop around here that has those intriguing spices! I do love the ones I'm familiar with. A new taste adventure awaits!
Thank you so much Diane, I am glad to have inspired someone to play around with some new Indian flavours, I love Indian food as you can probably tell! My guess is that Asafoetida is a new one, it is certainly not required and it is very pungent and adds a whole level of depth of flavour at the back end of a dish, you only need a little bit of it so make sure you buy just a small packet, as with all ground spices they tend to loose flavour after a couple of months.
I love the photography of these! And your website design! And the recipe! haha
Full house then 😀 Thank you very much Sarah 🙂
I love Indian food, this sounds delicious! I've asked Santa for a new kitchen knife this year 🙂
Thank you Joy, Santa bought me a new knife last Christmas 😀
Wow, looks incredible and sounds delish! Great photo catching the steam rising from the dish and the description makes me want to eat the picture! Thank you for introducing me to an Indian recipe I've not heard of. Can't wait to try it!
Thanks Emme, this is certainly an unusual recipe but one that packs a huge punch of flavour 🙂
This chicken looks SO GOOD! I've never had chicken pickle, but it sounds so enticing!
It is definitely a good un, you should give it a try!
I have never had this dish before, but it looks and sounds amazing! And I really love your "steamy" photos! Awesome! 🙂
Thanks Sherri, it is certainly not a usual way of cooking but one that I love 🙂
I definitely have to try that dish and cooking technique. Don't think I have ever had meat cooked this way. Does sound delicious!
It is a wonderful way of cooking it is almost a confit in a hurry, but it keeps the chicken so incredibly moist 🙂
This looks and sounds amazing. One question, though - what is Asafoetida? I've never heard of it. Is it critical to the dish?
Thank you Lisa... Asafoetida is one of the spices that gives Indian food a deep back note of flavour, it can also be found under the name Hing and is a bright yellow powder and is very pungnet and you only need a little bit of it. It is certainly not essential for the dish and can be omitted, naturally part of the back end of flavour will be missing but it will still be delicious nevertheless.
Oh this sounds FANTASTIC Brian! Hungry Hubby would most certainly approve too. Nom nom, I could eat a whole batch of that myself 😀
Cheers Jo... It is a stonkingly good recipe, I can not believe it is something that never made its way to the British Indian food scene! It's fairly reminiscent of a traditional 'vindaloo' type of dish but the cooking method, whilst a little indulgent, makes the most incredibly juicy chicken, I eat this all the time!
This dish looks absolutely stunning. My hubby adores Indian food. As a matter of fact, the other day he was talking about how much he missed the fabulous Indian food that was readily at his fingertips when we lived in Kenya (there is a large Indian population here). While we won't be returning to Kenya for some time. . .I'm thinking this dish might just satisfy his cravings. Looking at the photos is making me very hungry (and it's only breakfast time here!!!).
Thank you Lynn, I was bought up around Indian food in the UK too so when I moved to Hungary I had to bring it with me...This dish is fantastic, very 'vindaloo' in its concept but such a great way to fill a wrap... I love it!
A stand mixer 😉 Fingers crossed!
Haha, not quite 😉