Indian Chicken in Pickling Spices/ Achari Murg

A delicious, spicy, tangy Chicken dish made with pickling spices that preserves the dish for long time. A North Indian delicacy which is made with ingredients that enhances the flavors, increases the taste and is very authentic. This is a dish made in places like Rajasthan from a very long time.

I learned about this dish when I had this for the first time in a restaurant long back. I started making this at home, but couldn't post the recipe as it would be finished in no time and after some time I feel lazy to take pics. Today, here I am with a mouth watering , finger licking delicious dish which will be liked by all and hope you all will try it as the ingredients are easily available in the market.

Achar is an Indian condiment staple. Achar is a pickled food made with different variety’s of vegetables, fruits or meat and fish, which is preserved in brine or vinegar along with various Indian spices. There is no correct way of making pickles, rather every region every household has a preference. Here in this recipe, we use the spices that are used in pickles. Each spice is different from others, some are bitter, some are acidic, some are full of flavor but when everything comes together it's magical!!

Here I started with roasting and powdering the pickling spices and marinated the powder with the chicken, yogurt, which makes the gravy thick and which helps coat the chicken pieces evenly. Sautéed the onion- tomato mixture and then added the marinated chicken which is cooked in a generous amount of red chili powder and ended with a dash of crushed dried fenugreek leaves which will increase the flavors. A tender, juicy chicken in a spicy and tangy gravy is ready within minutes. This is traditionally made using mustard oil but you can use any oil as you like. You can adjust the gravy by adding water or decreasing. Hope you all like it!!

Ingredients:

1. Chicken Pieces- 2 lbs
2. Yogurt- 1 Cup
3. Salt- as required
4. Turmeric Powder- 2 tsp
5. Red Chilli powder- 1 tsp
6. Onions - 2 nos
7. Ginger- Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
8. Tomatoes (crushed)- 2 nos
9. Dried Fenugreek Leaves- 1tbsp
10. Oil- 2 tbsp

Roast and Grind: 
Pickling Spices:

1. Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
2. Fenugreek Seeds- 1 tsp
3. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
4. Fennel Seeds- 1 tsp
5. Nigell Seeds- 1 tsp
6. Dried Red Chilies-6 nos

Method:

1. Roast the pickling spices on a low flame and when it cools down grid to a fine powder. Marinate the chicken using this ground powder, turmeric powder, yogurt and salt. Keep this aside for half an hour.
2. Meanwhile heat oil in a pan, grind the onions to a coarse paste and fry till they turn translucent. Add the ginger- garlic paste and stir well.
3. When the raw smell disappears, add the crushed tomatoes and stir till everything gets well blended. When the water evaporates, add the red chili powder. Mix well.
4. In this add the marinated chicken, mix well and cook it covered for about 20- 25 minutes on a low flame.
5. When it gets cooked, add dried fenugreek leaves, stir and switch off the flame. Enjoy with roti, naan, bread or pulav.

Saag Paneer/ Cottage Cheese with Greens

Saag paneer/ Cottage Cheese with Greens is a classic favorite dish for most of the  Indians across India. This is a very popular dish in North India. Traditionally this dish is made of mustard leaves, spinach, and fenugreek leaves. The recipe is a combination of different varieties of greens with the perfectly browned paneer cubes which are infused with Indian spices and are stewed together in the rich cream or coconut milk till done.

Recently, while I was talking to my friend, who is Polish, but is a big fan of Indian food, she mentioned how she loves Saag Paneer. So I tried making this dish when I invited her home, she liked it a lot and this was a big hit at my house too. So from then on, this dish is prepared once in a week, which we eat along with chapatis or rice. It is so easy to make and not time-consuming.

This recipe requires an incredible amount of spinach, feel free to use any amount of spinach. Here in the US, I tried making this along with kale, spinach, fenugreek leaves, broccoli. Whatever greens, they are, all tastes perfectly good. Paneer is available abundantly nowadays. Some people will use homemade paneer, which tastes amazing. I fried the paneer lightly as I love the soft crumble texture of paneer. Some love it crunchy and can be done golden brown. The spices will add a nice flavor to the dish and last but not the least, the cream is added to make the dish more rich, creamy, tasty and flavorful. Instead of cream, we can also use coconut milk. A delicious, amazing dish will be ready to enjoy, by adding all the above ingredients and with a little bit of love. Hope you will try to prepare this and will like it. Please let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer/ Cottage Cheese- 2 Cups (cubed)
2. Oil- 3 tbsp
3. Spinach- 3 Cups
4. Fenugreek Leaves- 1/2 Cup
5. Onions (chopped)- 1 no
6. Tomatoes(chopped)- 1 no
7. Ginger and Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
8. Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp
9. Red Chili Powder- 1 Tsp
10. Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp
11. Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
12. Garam Masala Powder- 1 Tsp
13. Salt- as required
14. Cream- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Chop the spinach and fenugreek leaves using a hand blender. Keep this aside.
2. Fry the cubed paneer pieces on a slow flame in 1/2 tbsp of oil. When they turn a light golden color, keep them aside.
3. In the same pan, add oil, saute the onions till translucent. Add the ginger- garlic paste. Fry for a min on medium flame.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and when they turn mushy, add all the spice powders along with required amount of salt.
5. Add the chopped greens, stir for about 2 minutes. In this add the lightly fried golden colored paneer, mix and pour the cream on top. Stir lightly and enjoy naan/roti dipped in hot saag paneer.