Country Captain Chicken Curry – A classic traditional East Indian Chicken Curry Recipe that I adapted from the ‘East Indian Cookery Book’.
Table of Contents
My mum made this curry on most Sundays when we were growing up. I lost the recipe over the years until the East Indian Cookery book came to my rescue. I made a few alterations to the chicken curry towards the end, like my mum used to.
The chicken curry is mild in spices and has a thick onion-tomato gravy. Country Captain Chicken Curry is cooked on special occasions and is loved by kids and seniors. This Chicken Curry also reminds me of the East Indian Chicken Moile.
The key to a good Country Captain Chicken Curry is the caramelization of the chicken and onions. Proper caramelization renders an awesome taste to the Chicken Curry which otherwise would turn out bland. The tomatoes are cooked till they turn mushy and mixed with a red masala paste of red chillies, coriander and cumin seed, and turmeric.
Balancing the right flavours of spices along with perfect frying of onions and tomatoes is the art to make a delicious Chicken Curry, every time.
For this recipe, you cook the chicken in an onion-tomato gravy, which also has ginger-garlic, and green chillies. Cook for a couple of minutes until it all becomes one mass and oil starts oozing out from the curry. The curry eventually thickens and when it has a little gravy left, you know it is done. You can then enjoy this with some rice pulao, East Indian Fugias, or bread rolls.
Ingredients for Country Captain Chicken Curry
CHICKEN. Chicken on the bone is best for this recipe. You can use chicken with skin or skinless chicken too. I used 1 kg chicken cut into medium pieces to make this curry.
ONIONS & TOMATOES. Use about 6 medium onions and thinly slice them. Also, slice 6 medium tomatoes. The recipe calls for half a kg of onions and tomatoes for a thicker gravy.
GINGER, GARLIC & GREEN CHILLIES. Chopped ginger, garlic, and green chillies juliennes are fried along with the onions.
RED MASALA PASTE. Grind 8 to 10 Red Chillies, a tablespoon of coriander seeds, a teaspoon of cumin seeds, and half a teaspoon of turmeric powder. Use a little water and blend this into a smooth paste. Use any red chillies that you have. A blend of Kashmiri and Bedki Chillies will render a nice bright red colour to the masala paste.
GHEE/OIL. You could use either ghee or oil for this recipe. My mum would use a mix of oil and ghee for flavour and I do the same sometimes. Today I added only ghee and the flavour was awesome.
How to Make Country Captain Chicken Curry
STEP I
- Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pan and add 1 tbsp granulated sugar to it. Caramelize the sugar in ghee and then add the chicken pieces. Fry the chicken on all sides until it browns well and set it aside.
STEP II
- Heat 2 tbsp ghee in another vessel and fry the sliced onions until golden brown. Halfway through add in the cut masala, ginger, garlic, and green chillies. Continue frying until the onions are nicely brown. When the onions have browned well add the tomatoes and fry till they turn soft and mushy.
STEP III
- Now when the tomatoes have softened, add the red masala paste that we blended earlier and fry until the raw smell vanishes. When the entire mixture is fried and softened well you can pour this onto the chicken pieces. I did it the other way round, I added the chicken to the masala mixture. Then add a cup of warm water and cook until the chicken is well done.
STEP IV
- Once the chicken has cooked add a tbsp of vinegar and 1/2 a tsp of Garam Masala Powder. This is optional but adding this enhances the flavour of the chicken curry. Simmer for a minute and then garnish with coriander leaves. Country Captain Chicken Curry is ready to be served.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Country Captain Chicken Curry as the main course meal with bread, Wedding rice, Fugias, Chitaps or Rotis on special occasions.
Add a bowl of salad and serve this curry with bread or rice for a complete meal for lunch or dinner on regular days.
Other Chicken Curry Recipes that you may like.
East Indian Chicken Curry Recipe
Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk
Printable Recipe Card
Country Captain Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 Kg Chicken, cut into pieces
- 6 medium Onions, sliced
- 6 medium Tomatoes sliced
- 2 inch Ginger, finely chopped
- 9 – 10 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
- 3 – 4 Green chillies, juliennes
- 4 tbsp Ghee for cooking
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Vinegar
- ½ tsp Garam Masala Powder
- Coriander leaves for garnish
- Salt to taste
Red Masala Paste
- 10 Dried Red Chillies
- 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
Instructions
- Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pan and add 1 tbsp granulated sugar to it. Caramelize the sugar in ghee and then add the chicken pieces.
- Heat 2 tbsp ghee in another vessel and fry the sliced onions until golden brown. Half way through add in the cut masala, ginger, garlic and green chillies.
- When the onions have browned well add the tomatoes and fry till they turn soft and mushy.
- Now when the tomatoes have softened, add the red masala paste that with blended earlier and fry until the raw smell vanishes.
- When the entire mixture is fried and softened well you can pour this onto the chicken pieces. Then add a cup of warm water and cook until the chicken is well done.
- Once the chicken has cooked add a tbsp of vinegar and 1/2 a tsp of Garam Masala Powder.
- Simmer for a minute and then garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve Country Captain Chicken Curry with rice, bread, rotis, fugias or chitaps.
Video
Notes
- Use a mix of Bedki and Kashmiri Red Chillies or any chillies that you have.
- Cook the chicken curry until the oil oozes out.
- It is important to fry the onions till golden brown and the tomatoes until they turn soft.
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