>Citation bot at 23:47, 9 May 2021

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{{short description|Curried chicken and rice dish in the Southern United States}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Country captain
| image = Country Captain.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Country captain
| alternate_name =
| country = [[Indian subcontinent]]
| region =
| creator =
| course =
| type = [[Curry]]
| served =
| main_ingredient = [[Chicken (food)|chicken]], [[onion]]s, [[curry powder]]; usually [[golden raisin]]s and [[almond]]s
| variations =
| calories =
| other =
}}
'''Country captain''' is a [[curried chicken]] and rice dish, which is popular in the [[Southern United States]]. It was introduced to the United States through Charleston, Savannah, New York and Philadelphia, but has origins in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. The dish was once included in the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]]'s [[Meal, Ready-to-Eat]] packs, in honor of it being a favorite dish of [[George S. Patton]].

It has also appeared on television shows in both the United States and in the United Kingdom, with chefs [[Bobby Flay]], [[Atul Kochhar]] and [[Cyrus Todiwala]] all cooking the dish. Todiwala served his version to Queen [[Elizabeth II]] as part of her [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Diamond Jubilee celebrations]], as well as Kevin Gillespie during Top Chef season 17.

==Description==
In its basic form, country captain is a mild stew made with browned [[Chicken (food)|chicken]] pieces, [[onion]]s, and [[curry powder]].<ref name=kochhar/> [[Almond]]s and [[golden raisin]]s or [[zante currant]]s are usually added.<ref name=emeril>{{cite web|last=Lagasse|first=Emeril|title=Country Captain|url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/country-captain-recipe/index.html|publisher=Food Network|access-date=25 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829203642/http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/country-captain-recipe/index.html|archive-date=29 August 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many versions also call for [[tomato]]es, [[garlic]], and [[bell pepper]]s.<ref>{{cite web|last=Maroukian|first=Francine|title=Anatomy of a Classic: Country Captain|url=http://gardenandgun.com/article/anatomy-classic-country-captain|publisher=Garden & Gun|access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref> The dish is served over [[white rice]].<ref name=kochhar/> With the exception of the rice, it is meant to be cooked all in the same pot.<ref name=emeril/> Chef Mamrej Khan has referred to the dish as one of the first [[fusion cuisine|fusion]] dishes to be developed, making it part of the [[Anglo-Indian cuisine]].<ref name=yahoohist/>

Country captain originated in [[Indian subcontinent|India]] as a simple [[spatchcock]] poultry or game recipe involving onions and [[curry]] and possibly enjoyed by British officers.<ref name=yahoohist>{{cite news|title=The history of Country Captain chicken curry|url=http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/history-country-captain-chicken-curry-000000914.html|access-date=25 August 2012|newspaper=Yahoo! Lifestyle|date=9 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=huffpost>{{cite news|title=Anglo-Indian Cookery|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/encyclopedia/definition/anglo-indian-cookery/66/|access-date=25 August 2012|newspaper=Huffington Post}}</ref> One theory is that an early 19th-century British sea captain, possibly from the [[East India Company]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Pogson|first=Maureen|title=Reader's recipe: Country captain|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/09/readers-recipes-country-captain|access-date=25 August 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 March 2009}}</ref> working in the spice trade introduced it to the American South via the port of Savannah. The dish remains popular amongst the communities in [[Mumbai]], India.<ref name=yahoohist/> The "country" part of the dish's name dates from when the term referred to things of Indian origin instead of British, and so the term "country captain" would have meant a captain of Indian origin, a trader along the coasts of India.<ref name=huffpost/> Others claim that the word "captain" in the title is simply a corruption of the word "[[capon]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Claiborne |first=Craig |date=1990 |title=The New York Times Cookbook, Revised Edition |work=The New York Times |page=157 |isbn=0-06-016010-1 }}</ref>

In 1991, ''[[The New York Times]]'' columnist [[Molly O’Neill]] researched the origin of the dish known as country captain,<ref>{{Cite news|last=O'Neill|first=Molly|date=1991-04-17|title=Long Ago Smitten, She Remains True to the Country Captain (Published 1991)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/17/garden/long-ago-smitten-she-remains-true-to-the-country-captain.html|access-date=2021-02-03|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> which had been a steady feature in southern cookbooks since the 1950s. Working with [[Cecily Brownstone]], they discovered that the dish originally published in the United States in the pages of ''Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book'' published in Philadelphia in 1857.<ref name=chef/> The recipe required a "fine full-grown fowl".<ref name=willis>{{cite news|last=Cuttino|first=Jeff|title=Virginia Willis' Country Captain Chicken recipe a Southern-Indian curiosity|url=http://www.exaaminer.com/article/virginia-willis-country-captain-chicken-recipe-a-southern-indian-curiosity|access-date=25 August 2012|newspaper=Examiner|date=7 January 2011}}{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It also appeared in the kitchens of [[Alessandro Filippini]], who was a chef with a restaurant on [[Wall Street]] in the 18th century.<ref name=chef>{{cite news|last=Sifton|first=Sam|title=Master Class|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25food-t-000.html?_r=1|access-date=25 August 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 January 2009}}</ref>

Fans of the dish have included [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], who encountered country captain while visiting the [[Little White House]] in [[Warm Springs, Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Moss|first=Robert|date=October 9, 2014|title=Country Captain is the Southern Icon You May Have Never Tasted|url=https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/10/country-captain-southern-recipe-history.html|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-03|website=www.seriouseats.com}}</ref> Roosevelt introduced it to [[George S. Patton]], and it was Patton's love for the dish which subsequently resulted in it being added in his honor to the [[U.S. Army]]'s [[Meal, Ready-to-Eat]] [[field ration]]s in 2000.<ref name=chef/> A variety of Southern chefs have recipes for the dish, including [[Paul Prudhomme]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Prudhomme|first=Paul|title=Country Captain|url=http://www.kpauls.com/site.php?pageID=300&view=412|publisher=KPauls.com|access-date=25 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924073816/http://www.kpauls.com/site.php?pageID=300&view=412|archive-date=24 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Paula Deen]] and [[Emeril Lagasse]].<ref name=emeril/><ref>{{cite web|last=Deen|first=Paula|title=Paula Deen's Country Captain Chicken|url=http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Country-Captain-Chicken-Paula-Deen|publisher=ABC|access-date=25 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830103432/http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Country-Captain-Chicken-Paula-Deen|archive-date=30 August 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The dish was featured on an episode of ''[[Throwdown! with Bobby Flay]]'' in [[Throwdown! with Bobby Flay#Season 6|season 6]] guest-starring Matt and Ted Lee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/country-captain-chicken/index.html |title=Country Captain Chicken |publisher=Food Network |access-date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912082437/http://www.foodnetwork.com/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/country-captain-chicken/index.html |archive-date=12 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It also appeared on the [[BBC One]] cooking show, ''[[Saturday Kitchen]]'', with chef [[Atul Kochhar]] cooking the regular chicken and rice version of the dish.<ref name=kochhar>{{cite web|last=Kochhar|first=Atul|title=Country captain chicken curry|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/countrycaptainchicke_84737|publisher=BBC Food|access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref>

==Variations==
Chef [[Cyrus Todiwala]] cooked a variation of country captain on ''[[Saturday Kitchen]]''. His version was similar to [[shepherd's pie]], in that the meat was baked under a layer of potato.<ref>{{cite web|last=Todiwala|first=Cyrus|title=Country captain shepherd's pie|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/country_captain_95324|publisher=BBC Food|access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref> He had previously cooked the dish for Queen [[Elizabeth II]] and the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]] at [[Krishna Avanti Primary School, Harrow|Krishna Avanti Primary School]] in [[Harrow, London|Harrow]] as part of the Queen's [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Diamond Jubilee celebrations]] in 2012. That version of the dish used a rare breed of lamb from the [[Orkney Islands]] which had been fed on seaweed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stanford|first=Janie|title=Cyrus Todiwala cooks for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh|url=http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/30/03/2012/343044/Cyrus-Todiwala-cooks-for-the-Queen-and-the-Duke-of-Edinburgh.htm|access-date=24 August 2012|newspaper=Caterer and Hotelkeeper|date=30 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426183439/http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/30/03/2012/343044/Cyrus-Todiwala-cooks-for-the-Queen-and-the-Duke-of-Edinburgh.htm|archive-date=26 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The dish is also now on the menu of Todiwala's London restaurant, [[Café Spice Namasté]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A'la carte|url=http://cafespice.co.uk/menus/ala-carte/|publisher=Café Spice Namasté|access-date=24 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107145540/http://cafespice.co.uk/menus/ala-carte/|archive-date=7 January 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Cuisine of the Southern United States]]
* [[Indian cuisine]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Chicken dishes|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:American stews]]
[[Category:Anglo-Indian cuisine]]
[[Category:Lowcountry cuisine]]
[[Category:American chicken dishes]]
[[Category:1857 introductions]]
[[Category:Curry dishes]]

Country Captain - Revision history

>Citation bot at 23:47, 9 May 2021