This chicken pickle recipe is the perfect accompaniment with rice or my personal favourite way to eat this is as a bar snack with a drink with friends. Just thinking about this recipe makes my mouth water. A big plus point being this is the perfect way of preserving meat so you can make a large batch and store it in the fridge for up to two months, making it a convenient and tasty snack whenever you want it.
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What exactly is Kukhura ko achar?
In Nepali, the word for chicken is "khukhura." Kukhura ko achar is essentially a method of pickling and preserving the chicken meat using oil and spices. This method of preserving meat is both clever and delicious, and gives it a big burst of umami flavour. The chicken is combined with warm, tingling timmur (Nepali Sichuan pepper) for an added layer of spice.
Our family always has some form of meat pickle in the fridge for days we want easy extra side dish on hand. This also goes down very well with guests who are very curious to try a meat pickle!
How do Nepali people eat Kukhura ko achar (chicken pickle)?
This Chicken pickle dish is usually served as either a starter or as an accompaniment with your main carbohydrate (most likely rice or roti). My favourite way to eat this chicken pickle is as a bar snack with some alcoholic beverage like beer or rice wine.
Tips and Pearls
- It's important to be careful not to fry the chicken pieces too much, as they can become too hard and the pickle won't taste as good.
- The pickle can be eaten immediately, but the chicken pieces will soften by the fourth day and absorb the oil, salt, and spice for an even more flavorful and tender snack.
- Can be stored and eaten up to 2 months. However always monitor for the pickle going bad and signs of fungus growth. Throw away immediately if any signs present.
- Avoid getting moisture into the jar, use clean and dry spoon to take the pickle mix out every single time!
Serve with suggestions for Kukhura Ko Achar (Chicken Pickle)
Pairs wonderfully with a bowl of steaming rice and creamy lentil soup. Also goes very well with any noodle dish.
Suggested Alterations
- You can use any type of meat for this recipe, including lamb, mutton, duck, buffalo, or beef. Just be aware that these meats may have more oil than chicken, so you may need to use less oil. If you are using pork, you can add one onion (roughly chopped) and one teaspoon of tomato paste to help balance out the fatty texture of the meat.
- You can also add sliced carrot, onion, or radish for additional flavour.
Chicken Pickle (Kukhura Ko Achar) कुखुराको अचार
Equipment
- 2 Pickling glass jar/bottle Needs to be an air tight container e.g jam jars. Best way to de-sterilise the bottle is by boiling it in hot water then leaving to air dry. Make sure the container is completely dry before using.
Ingredients
- 1 kg Chicken thigh Boneless and skinless. Cut into small pieces.
- 50 g Garlic Approximately 10 garlic cloves. Crushed roughly
- 100 g Ginger Cut into thin long slices
- 1 tablespoon Dried Chilli
- 1 teaspoon Chilli Powder
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ½ Cup Vegetable Oil You can substitute with vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 10 tablepsoon Lemon Juice
- 2 teaspoon Brown Sugar
Masala Mix
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan Pepper (Timmur)
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1 tablespoon Sesame seed
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite size medium pieces. Deep fry or air fry the chicken until golden brown and crispy (approx 10 minutes). Take out and leave to cool.
- Dry roast the masala mix for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Once cool crush into a coarse powder using either mortar and pestle or a grinder.
- Heat up the mustard oil and fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant and golden brown 2- 3minutes. Then add the turmeric, chilli flakes and masala mix we made earlier to the oil. Turn off the heat. Add salt and red chilli powder, brown sugar and lemon juice and mix well.
- Add the fried chicken to the oil and mix well and ensure all the chicken pieces are coated well. Set aside and let the pickle mix cool to room temperature. This is very important as you don't want the mix to be steaming inside the jar.
- Get the pickling glass jar and ensure it is clean and dry. Put the pickle mix into the jar and store in the fridge. Can be eat immediately but leaving to pickle for another 2 days would result in the flavours being enhanced.
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