COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

An old Colonial dish that was cooked very often in Anglo-Indian homes in the olden days. There are many versions of the recipe for this delectable dish, but this recipe is from an old handwritten book of recipes of my grandmother. 

Serves 6   Time required: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken cut into medium size pieces     

4 large onions sliced finely

2 teaspoons chillie powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

3 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste

2 small sticks cinnamon

4 cloves

6 or 8 whole pepper corns                              

2 Dry Red Chillies broken into bits

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions cinnamon, cloves, red chillie and pepper corns till golden brown. Remove half the fried onions and keep aside. Add the chicken to the pan and mix in the ginger garlic paste and sauté for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the chillie powder, turmeric powder, and salt. Mix well and stir fry for a few minutes. Add ½ cup of water and cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is quite thick. Now add the remaining browned onions and mix well. Simmer for a few more minutes, then, turn off the heat. The gravy should be quite thick so that it coats the pieces of chicken nicely.

Note: This recipe can be adapted to meat as well. Left over Beef or Lamb Roast can be made into a delicious Country Captain Fry or a cold meat curry if desired.