Country Captain Recipe (2024)

This can be prepared in a sheet pan method in a 425 convection roasting oven. Cover all ingredients with oil and spices, place parchment paper on the bottom of a flat roasting pan, sliced potatoes spread out on the parchment, sliced onions on top of the potatoes and chicken thighs on top of vegetables. Roast until chicken is 160° F and serve with raita and naan.

Excellent! I added a couple of tablespoons of water after the last batch of chicken to deglaze and add those brown bits to the dish as well.

Thank you! I get tired of people insisting on "authenticity" when the reality of food is hybridity. . . all the time borrowing, changing, making new versions. I also get tired when people jump in with "expertise" having clearly ignored explanatory text, just wanting to claim superior knowledge. No food police, please.

For those who complain that this is not real Country Captain, just read the entire article. It states right off the bat that this is an earlier Anglo-Indian version of the dish - a precursor to the classic dish so well-known in the American South.

I used a 12 inch skillet to brown onions, removed them, only adding a little oil, removed them and added potatoes. Cooked potatoes until brown, removed them. Cooked the chicken in that same pan then added all the ingredients, stirring all until nicely coated. Came out great. All told, used only about 3 tablespoons for each step.

This is an old recipe that my aunt used to make for me going back 45 to 50 years ago. The name of the dish was "Country Captain Chicken". In this version the spices used are in recipe are used in Indian dishes which I love. The original recipe called for salt, pepper, garlic and onions, oregano or thyme and a tomato puree and raisins, yes raisins. I will try this version, but I probably will add a tablespoon or so of tomato paste. That would add a richness that goes well with the other spices.

This recipe has nothing to do with 'The British Raj'. It is clearly a variant of a well known Malaysian dish: Chicken/Curry Kapitan and part of Nyonya food, Nyonya is a title given to married women from the Peranakan ethnic group descended from marriages between Chinese immigrants and native Malayans, and famous for their cooking which fuses elements from both groups' culinary traditions. Originally from ports like Penang many male Peranakans were sea cooks which is why the dish has spread.

Try serving this over basmati.

Very tasty! mine came out a bit dry ... Followed the directions, used safflower oil. Anything i could have done better?

Ok, I enjoyed this but am not likely to cook it a second time. Flavorful and fun to prep, I'm not about to heat an inch of oil to 340° to fry 'the sides' (onion & potato) again soon. Have just finished cleaning up two pans, utensils and bowls, I'm still am not sure what to do w/ the leftover oil it called for. I like the suggestion of the sheet pan option. Thanks for giving me the spice concoctions. Loved them, but I give this a 3.

Mine came out a little dry, too, but I added a splash of white wine when finishing, and the dish was saucier.

You can strain the leftover oil through a coffee filter and then use it a you normally would oil or to fry things again

Very good dish, but next time, I'll add more spices than what are called for here. I made my own garlic/ginger paste and marinated the chicken pieces with that overnight, so they were strong flavors. But I'll add more of the powdered spices next time.

Did not use chicken (sin of sins I guess) but used chunks of pork instead. This was good enough to keep in my files to make again. Think it might just be a good potluck. Maybe?

Indeed, Nonya cooks make a similar dish with pork adding lemongrass, chillis and shrimp paste. It tastes very good but your pork has to be somewhat fatty.

It seems like a vindaloo dish, but without the masala and sauce (and thus flavor). Vindaloo originated in Goa, a Portuguese colony, from a dish called “carne de vinha d’alhos,” i.e. meat with wine vinegar and garlic. It's made with many kinds of meat and seafood, with some variation in spice mixes (masalas). Thus it can get much more interesting than this recipe (and with less clean-up). If you like this recipe, explore vindaloo options too.

Not joining the "food police," but this is an endlessly re-imaginable dish: recipes from the US south to the old "Joy of Cooking's" boneless skinless breasts (easily dried out), to NYT Cooking's own 2019 version with bone-in-skin-on thighs (nice!) to Bobby Flay's overengineered recipe with skinless-bone-in thighs to these boneless-skinless thighs. While curious what "ginger garlic paste"/"Kashmiri chili powder" add, I'll stick with Joy of Cooking's version plus bone-in-skin-on thighs, BTW.

Which part of the recipe demands the most skill, as mentioned in the introduction?

This recipe was just OK. High heat was just too hot for the chicken. My chicken was overly charred and my house filled with smoke. The end result was decent, but we found it fairly dry. If I make it again, I’d serve with tahini wrapped in lavash or pita as it reminded us of shawarma.

I used a 12 inch skillet to brown onions, removed them, only adding a little oil, removed them and added potatoes. Cooked potatoes until brown, removed them. Cooked the chicken in that same pan then added all the ingredients, stirring all until nicely coated. Came out great. All told, used only about 3 tablespoons for each step.

Kind of a complex recipe for the end result. One pot this or do the sheet method another person mentioned.

Very good dish, but next time, I'll add more spices than what are called for here. I made my own garlic/ginger paste and marinated the chicken pieces with that overnight, so they were strong flavors. But I'll add more of the powdered spices next time.

As it was cooking I was afraid it would just taste like burnt stuff. It was terrific! Followed recipe except upped the ginger and garlic (frozen cubes of each). Served w Jaime rice. I’d add more turmeric and a tad more vinegar next time.

This recipe has nothing to do with 'The British Raj'. It is clearly a variant of a well known Malaysian dish: Chicken/Curry Kapitan and part of Nyonya food, Nyonya is a title given to married women from the Peranakan ethnic group descended from marriages between Chinese immigrants and native Malayans, and famous for their cooking which fuses elements from both groups' culinary traditions. Originally from ports like Penang many male Peranakans were sea cooks which is why the dish has spread.

I followed the suggestion to make this on a sheet pan. It was boring and bland. Not worth the trouble.

Ok, I enjoyed this but am not likely to cook it a second time. Flavorful and fun to prep, I'm not about to heat an inch of oil to 340° to fry 'the sides' (onion & potato) again soon. Have just finished cleaning up two pans, utensils and bowls, I'm still am not sure what to do w/ the leftover oil it called for. I like the suggestion of the sheet pan option. Thanks for giving me the spice concoctions. Loved them, but I give this a 3.

Very tasty recipe but I will double the initial sauce/spice mix next time.

For those who complain that this is not real Country Captain, just read the entire article. It states right off the bat that this is an earlier Anglo-Indian version of the dish - a precursor to the classic dish so well-known in the American South.

This is an old recipe that my aunt used to make for me going back 45 to 50 years ago. The name of the dish was "Country Captain Chicken". In this version the spices used are in recipe are used in Indian dishes which I love. The original recipe called for salt, pepper, garlic and onions, oregano or thyme and a tomato puree and raisins, yes raisins. I will try this version, but I probably will add a tablespoon or so of tomato paste. That would add a richness that goes well with the other spices.

I’d love it if Sam or someone suggested vegetarian versions or included at least one delicious vegetarian option. I could imagine a country captain with ghee (or peanut oil) and cashews, fried onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, and so on, tomatoes and other junior league ingredients too.