This Achari Chicken recipe is simple to make at home using everyday pantry spices and a small handful of specialty seeds. The achari spice blend—made from nigella (kalonji), fennel (saunf), cumin (zeera) and black mustard (rai)—gives the curry its signature tangy, pickle-like flavour. Use this spice mix for chicken, vegetables, lentils or any achari-style dish.
Achari Chicken is a tangy, aromatic chicken curry inspired by the pickle flavours common across Pakistan and India. The same spice mix works beautifully in recipes like Achari Aloo and can be scaled up and stored for future use.
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🔪 How to make Achari Chicken
Begin by making the achari spice mix. In a spice grinder or pestle and mortar, grind together nigella seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and black mustard seeds until fine. The recipe card below lists exact amounts.
Place the spice mix in a bowl with full-fat yogurt, salt, coriander powder, turmeric, green chilli paste, ginger paste and garlic paste. Mix well, then add the chicken pieces and coat thoroughly. Refrigerate and marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours so the flavours infuse the meat.
When ready to cook, heat oil in a deep pan or pot. Add finely diced onions and sauté over medium-high heat until they turn a deep brown—this builds a rich base for the curry.
Add the marinated chicken to the onions and sauté on high heat until the chicken loses its pink colour and the mixture looks relatively dry. Stir frequently so nothing sticks or burns.
Stir in tomato concentrate and ½ cup (125 ml) water. If you prefer to use fresh tomatoes instead, add two medium finely diced tomatoes and only a splash (about ⅛ cup) of water; adjust if the mixture looks too dry.
Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 25 minutes to allow the chicken to cook through and the flavours to meld.
While the chicken simmers, prepare the green chillies—this step is optional but adds a traditional punch. Mix lemon juice with chaat masala. If you don’t have chaat masala, a little extra achari spice mix works well instead.
Make a lengthwise slit in each green chilli without cutting it through. Gently open the slit and spoon 2–3 teaspoons of the lemon-chaat mixture into each chilli. Set aside.
After the chicken has simmered for 25 minutes, remove the lid, add the prepared green chillies, replace the lid and cook on low for another 5 minutes so the chillies warm through and release their tangy flavours into the curry.
Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot. Achari Chicken pairs especially well with flatbreads like roti, naan or parathas.
💭 Extra tips and substitutions
- You can make this with boneless chicken or ground/minced meat using the same total weight as the bone-in version.
- For beef or lamb (Achar Gosht), add 1–1.5 cups extra water during cooking and simmer for an additional 1–1.5 hours until tender.
- Make a larger batch of the achari spice mix to keep on hand; it seasons many vegetable curries such as bhindi, aloo gobi and aloo baingan.
- This curry often tastes even better the next day after the flavours have had more time to develop.
- If you prefer not to stuff chillies, you can simply add whole green chillies to the curry while cooking—the flavour will still be excellent.
- Finely dice the onions for the best texture. If you purée onions, allow time for the water to evaporate before they brown.
- If you use fresh tomatoes, finely dice or purée them. Tomato concentrate gives a richer red colour and concentrated flavour.
- You can cut the oil quantity by up to half if you want a lighter dish.
- Serve with flatbread or steamed rice to soak up the tangy sauce.
If you like Achari Chicken, you may also like…
Achari Aloo | Chicken Jalfrezi | Chilli Paneer | Timatar Aloo | Khatte Aloo
📋 Recipe
Achari Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken marination
- 1 teaspoon nigella seeds kalonji
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds saunf
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds zeera
- 1.5 teaspoon black mustard seeds rai
- 1.7 lb (¾ kg) chicken, bone in 1.7lb/800g is the approximate size of a medium-sized chicken
- ½ cup (120 g) full fat yogurt
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 6 green chillies Thai bird eye or finger chilli – the slim variety of chillies, ground into a paste (about 1 tsp)
- 8 garlic cloves ground into a paste/2 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1.5 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 0.5 teaspoon turmeric
For the sauce
- ½ cup (125 ml) oil
- 2 medium onions diced finely
- 2 tablespoon tomato concentrate OR two medium tomatoes finely diced
- 8 bullet chillies
- juice from half a lemon
- 3 teaspoon chaat masala
- fresh coriander for garnishing
Instructions
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Grind the nigella, fennel, cumin and mustard seeds in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar until fine.
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Prepare the marinade by combining the ground spice mix with yogurt, green chilli paste, garlic, ginger, coriander powder, turmeric and salt. Coat the chicken and refrigerate for 4–24 hours.
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Heat oil in a deep pan. Add diced onions and sauté over medium-high heat until browned.
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Add marinated chicken and sauté until no longer pink and the yogurt has concentrated, leaving the mixture quite dry. Stir regularly to avoid burning.
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Stir in tomato concentrate and ½ cup (125 ml) water. If using fresh tomatoes, add them finely diced and a small amount of water. Cover and simmer on low for 25 minutes.
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While the chicken cooks, combine lemon juice and chaat masala. Make a slit in each green chilli, open it gently and insert 2–3 teaspoons of the lemon mixture into each chilli. Set aside.
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After 25 minutes, uncover, add the prepared chillies and cook for another 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot.
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