Start by cooking the chicken. In a deep-bottomed pan, add 2 tbsp mustard oil and let it smoke.

When hot, add the bay leaves, ginger garlic paste and the sliced onions. Saute on medium heat.

Add the chicken pieces and mix well. Add turmeric, chilli, cumin and coriander powders. Also add salt, and stir.

Cook the chicken on medium-high heat and roast it well with the masalas until they begin to release oil.

Add tomato puree and achaari masala, then cook chicken with a lid on low heat until chicken releases water and begins to turn tender.

When the chicken is well-coated with the masalas and is almost 80% done, turn off gas and proceed to take chicken out. While chicken is cooking, soak dry roasted moong dal, masoor dal and rice in water for 20 mins. Use basmati if possible.

In a pressure cooker, add the remaining mustard oil and let it heat up.

Add the soaked dal-rice mixture, and season with turmeric, red chilli, salt and sugar. Fry for a bit, and add the chicken mixture.

Add water (double the amount of water to dal-rice mixture, that is for 2 cups of dal-rice add 4 cups of water and 1 cup extra for the chicken, so total 5 cups of water)

Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 1 or 2 whistles. If you want khichdi to retain some bite, 1 whistle should be enough.

When steam releases, open cooker and check. I like this khichdi to be quite dry, like pulao but slightly mushy. Add ghee, sprinkle fried onions, mint and serve Achaar Murgh Khichdi with papad, pickle and raita.