A mild stew of browned chicken pieces, onions and curry powder, usually with almonds and golden raisins or currants, first printed in a Philadelphia cookbook in 1857.

Country captain first appeared in print in Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, published in Philadelphia in 1857. One theory holds that an early 19th-century British sea captain brought it to the American South by way of the port of Savannah; the captain may have been linked to the East India Company and the spice trade. Franklin Roosevelt encountered the dish while visiting the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia.

Where to eat Country Captain in Savannah

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Make it at home

Serves 41 hr 30 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken (1.5 to 1.8kg), cut into 8 pieces (or 8 bone-in skin-on thighs and drumsticks)
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 75g all-purpose flour, well seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 large yellow onions, finely chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp Madras-style curry powder
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground allspice
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • 1 can (400g) good Italian whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • 80g dried currants or sultanas
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 60g toasted blanched almonds, sliced or slivered
  • 60g toasted unsweetened shredded coconut (optional but traditional)
  • To serve: 400g cooked long-grain white rice, mango chutney (Major Grey's), 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

  1. Pat the chicken pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Dredge in the seasoned flour, shake off excess.
  2. Heat the butter and oil in a wide heavy ovenproof pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces in two batches, skin-side first, for 4 minutes per side until deeply golden. Lift onto a plate.
  3. Reduce heat to medium. In the same pan, soften the onions for 8 minutes until pale gold. Add the bell peppers and cook 6 more minutes.
  4. Stir in the garlic, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, allspice and cayenne; cook for 90 seconds to bloom the spices.
  5. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and chicken stock, scrape the pan, add the currants, brown sugar and thyme.
  6. Nestle the browned chicken pieces back into the sauce in a single layer, skin-side up.
  7. Cover loosely with a lid set slightly ajar, transfer to a 175 degrees Celsius oven and braise for 45 minutes, until the chicken is tender and pulls easily from the bone.
  8. Lift the chicken pieces out; reduce the sauce on the stovetop for 10 minutes until thickened to coat a spoon. Return the chicken to the pan to rewarm.
  9. Plate a generous mound of hot rice on each plate, lay 1 to 2 pieces of chicken on top, ladle over the spiced sauce.
  10. Scatter with toasted almonds, optional coconut, and parsley. Serve with a small dish of mango chutney on the side.

Editor tip. Use a quality Madras curry powder (Bolst's or Spice Hunter); supermarket-generic curry powder is too mild and the dish reads as tomato-stewed chicken instead. The toasted almonds and currants are non-negotiable; they are the structural Lowcountry signature.

Common allergens: Gluten, Nuts (almonds).