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Boneless chicken is cut into fine pieces. After this, chicken was marinated with turmeric and salt for 30 min.
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Authentic nepali masala is taken on a plate. You could also add mustard seeds to enhance the flavor and give the chicken achar a more Nepali taste.
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Red chilli is roasted in a pan until it turns a little brown. It was grinded into fine powder after this.
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All the masala [spices] are mixed together and roasted in a pan at medium heat. They were roasted until it turned a little brown.
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Chicken is added into the oil. It was cooked on medium heat.
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Chicken is cooked until it turns reddish brown. Overcooking it might make chicken hard.
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After the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and in the same pan with the same oil add garlic. After the garlic turns brown, add the ground spices and cook it for a little bit and add chicken.
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Chicken achar [pickle] is a popular Nepali dish served with rice and curry, especially during festive occasions. This dish can be saved for up to three months if stored in an airtight container.
Festivals like Dashain and Tihar celebrations would be incomplete in Nepal without a meal that is both tasty and hearty, bringing people closer to each other and chicken achar [pickle] is definitely an example of such a meal that gives me a nostalgic feeling about my native place. Chicken achar isn’t just food but food that embodies the true flavor of Nepal and which can be savored with beaten or steamed white rice served along with dal. The reason for selecting this recipe was its celebration element, although it takes some patience.
Achar made with chicken is one such dish which is tangy and spicy and is known to have a distinct aroma as well. This dish is so delicious that it can be eaten as a side dish as well as a main dish. This dish goes very well with any other curry dish such as rice, lentils and is known to be preserved for a long time.
Ingredients
To make this chicken achar, you will need boneless chicke
n cut into small pieces. Start with about 1 pound of boneless chicken and marinate it with ½ teaspoon turmeric and salt according to your taste, then let it rest for 30 minutes.
For the spice mix, you will need 1 cup dried red chili, 2 tablespoons cumin seeds, 2 tablespoons mustard seeds, 2 tablespoons cilantro seeds, 2 tablespoons fennel seeds and 1 tablespoon timur [Sichuan pepper].
For cooking, you will need 1 cup oil, finely chopped garlic as desired, red chili powder according to taste, additional salt if needed and 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice.
Directions
Start by marinating the boneless chicken with turmeric and salt and letting it sit for 30 minutes to absorb the flavors.
After the chicken is set aside, dry roast a red chili over medium heat in a dry pan. Once it changes color to reddish-brown, take it out of the pan. Roast mustard seeds, cilantro seeds, cumin seeds and timur in the same pan. Dry roast until they change color to a reddish-brown and become fragrant.
Grind the roasted chili and spices into a coarse powder.
After this, place oil into a frying pan on medium heat and add the chicken that was marinated. Cook the chicken until it turns golden brown.
Now add the chopped garlic to the same oil, stirring continuously until it turns light brown in color. After that, add the ground spices and stir. Now again put the chicken into the same vessel, stir well and now add red chilly powder and salt as per your taste.
Finally, add 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice and mix well. Let it cook for a few more minutes, then remove from heat.
Wrap-up
Another aspect of this dish that makes it excellent is that it is entirely customizable depending on the person’s preferences. The level of spiciness can be altered according to the preference, just like adding additional garlic to add more aroma to the dish or increasing the acidic content to make the achar more tangy. The oil and the spices added to this dish help in increasing its shelf-life.
Edited by Arohi Rai and Anushma Dahal
