New! Our Favorite Country Captain Recipe (a southern Icon)

Feast your eyes on an icon, folks. With its complicated and rich history, a unique name, and its absolutely gorgeous flavors, a classic Country Captain recipe is a true head-turner of a thing to be sure. I shared a “meatballed” version of a Country Captain recipe in my second cookbook and wanted to share the version that I make most often in my kitchen – a version that takes ever so slight liberties with the original – but maintains and carries on the flavors and bright spirit of the classic.

I truly love this Country Captain recipe. As it simmers away on your stovetop, you can literally smell the history as the spices merge together into a sauce that will perfume your home and ignite all of your senses.

If my Country Captain recipe strikes your fancy, be sure to peek at some of my other Southern gems … like my Southern Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad or this Banana Pudding that’s just silly good. Or, maybe serve it with a great Southern cocktail, like this Southern Milk Punch that is really tasty I have to say.

Why We Love This Country Captain Recipe so much

Well for starters, just look at it. It’s so attractive looking am I right? One glance at this vermillion, sunset-hued pan of saucy goodness and you just KNOW that’s it’s going to be great. So, there’s that. But you know how the saying goes that we eat with our eyes first? While there’s some truth in that sentiment, I would argue that we eat with our noses first. And this recipe is the evidence I’m offering up to support my argument.

The intoxicating blend of curry powder, fresh grated nutmeg and cayenne, and fresh aromatics (hello onion and garlic) sends an absolute riot of delicious aromas into the air as it simmers away on the stovetop. It’s just really something. But curry powder especially has a way of doing that … can’t help itself, I suppose.

Anyway, not only does this Country Captain recipe look and smell so damn good – it’s also wonderfully, wondrously delicious. I can’t not be, though. There’s the aromatic curried tomato sauce. There’s the seasoned and breaded chicken pieces (this part reminds me faintly of the process that goes into my Firecracker Chicken). And then there’s the subtle-but-lovely touch of the toasted almond sprinkle that goes on top.

It all just works. But as a happy History major and a self-proclaimed food nerd, I truly get the biggest kick out of recipes that are also really interesting – recipes that have touchable, taste-able history inside every bite. Country Captain is an intriguing example of how flavors travel around the world, and how cooks take ingredients, environments, and personal preferences and build these things up into recipes that tell really do tell a story.

A Brief History of The iconic Southern Country Captain

I lived in Charleston, SC for years and that’s where I was first introduced to this whole Country Captain thing. Purported to have been popularized (though not invented) in the lowcountry (Savannah/Charleston), you can practically see the spice ships coming into harbor when you first take a bit of this beautiful chicken stew. Curry isn’t typically an ingredient that comes to mind when thinking of classic Southern flavors, but in the case of a Country Captain recipe – it’s what gives it that hallmark aromatic essence.

What began as an Indian recipe, eventually became a Southern one …

The history of Country Captain, however, is a little murky and somewhat controversial – not unlike the history of the Lowcountry cities themselves. Dating back to the early 1800s, Country Captain was almost definitely created on the Indian Subcontinent, whose merchant (or “country”) ships were commanded by sea captains called “country captains.” And it was clearly brought to the American South on the ships that made the long, hard overseas voyage. But exactly HOW Country Captain made its way to the South, and why for that matter, is a little more interesting, a little less commonly known.

But it is really worth taking a little time to learn about this dish’s origin story, as it so nicely underscores the greater evolution of what we consider Southern cuisine to be today.

In 1889, the New York Times noted that those who wandered off the beaten track in India would within a few hours “make acquaintance with ‘Country Captain’ in one of its local forms, which are varied.” All of them involved browned chicken parts cooked in some form of curry.

Through the early decades of the 20th century, country captain remained an “Indian” dish, though it was starting to become known in the United States. It first appeared in an American cookbook in 1857, when Eliza Leslie included it in Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book. … It’s not surprising that such a recipe would appeal to American cooks around the turn of the 20th century, for exoticism was very much in vogue. Curry powder was quite fashionable, and “chicken curry” was a popular recipe. In fact, many of the recipes called “chicken curry” published during this period are almost indistinguishable from those called “country captain.”

Enter a Swiss-born chef named Alessandro Filippini. He ran the Pine Street outpost of the famous New York City restaurant Delmonico’s, and the recipe for country captain caught his eye. Filippini included the dish in his International Cookbook (1906), and he added a few of his own flourishes. He fried green peppers and garlic along with the chicken and onions, and he added thyme and parsley with the curry powder. He then finished the dish by garnishing it with roasted almonds and dried currants.

Those New York flourishes would eventually become standard for the American incarnation of country captain. – Serious Eats

What to serve alongside this Country Captain recipe

This recipe is very big and hearty – she’s packed with veggies, too, so pretty close to being a one-bowl meal for sure. That said, I always serve it with either biscuits or cornbread on the side and more often than not, a green side of some sort.

My favorite little butter beans are a go-to for sure, as is a cold and crunchy iceberg salad with my simple-yet-stunning buttermilk salad dressing. This Southern cucumber salad is actually perfect, all sidled up alongside the curried tomato sauce in this Country Captain recipe. Or, you could go super classic and make my Southern Killed Lettuces. That’d be a pretty fantastic move, I think.

A few quick Country Captain Recipe Ingredient Notes

The Chicken

Traditionally, you’d use like a whole bird, cut up and then dredged and browned. Or, you’ll see recipes that call for bone-in, skin-on pieces. But in my version here (my favorite way to make Country Captain for sure), I use a mix of boneless, skinless breasts and thighs. It’s just easy, honestly, and it’s a total crowd pleaser. But of course – you can absolutely use bone-in, skin-on pieces if you’d like to stick a little closer to tradition. You’ll just need to cook them a teen bit longer, but other than that the recipe is unchanged by that swap.

The tomatoes

We’re just using a big ol’ can of diced tomatoes here. Easy, simple, no muss, no fuss.

The Raisins

Filippini included dried currants in his interpretation of Country Captain, and that op of sweetness – to me – makes the dish. Feel free to use any raisins or dried currants you like.

The curry powder

A good Country Captain recipe will have you reach for a truly fresh jar of curry powder. We’re talking so fresh that it transports you the moment you open it. Not, incidentally, like the old one that’s currently lurking in my spice drawer. Ahem. Anyway, look for a jar that is simply labeled, “curry powder.”

Curry powder (not to be confused with madras curry powder, garam masala or Thai-inspired curries) is actually a complex blend of spices that combine into a warm, fragrant, heady mix that is used in many Indian dishes. You can use it in my Singapore Street Noodles and this Coconut Chickpea Curry, if you need more inspo …

the veggies

In my Country Captain recipe, I stick to the New York-ified classic (see the quote above) and use diced onion, bell peppers, and garlic to give this curried gravy a totally lovable flavor. I also throw in some celery sometimes because honestly I’ve always got it around and typically need to use it up (bless its heart). But that’s not traditional for this dish, so it’s * totally * optional.

how to make this country captain recipe

I do a couple of little things in my version of Country Captain that, to me, really make it extra good.

1. I use freshly grated nutmeg – because it’s a superstar ingredient and I love it so much.
2. I take a sec to pulse the aromatic veggies in my food processor before adding them to my hot pan to soften. This smooths out the curried gravy a bit, refining the sauce to a degree. That said, you could totally just use an immersion blender and call it goo. Or, don’t even bother with this – a chunky sauce is a good sauce as well.
3. I use unrefined coconut oil and/or shredded toasted coconut as a topping when I make Country Captain, as a nod to one of the very first recipes for Country Captains that was ever published in America by Eliza Leslie in 1857. Coconut and curry go together better than any other duo out there, I think. I’m with you here, Eliza. Simpatico.

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