Country Captain Chicken ~ A British Era Chicken dish

   Throughout history India has been invaded and occupied by other cultures and each has left its own mark on Indian food and culture. But mostly British left their unerasable mark on India as they ruled over India for the longest time. The British became the virtual ruler of Bengal by defeating Nawab Siraj-ud Daulah through conspiracy in the year of 1757. Kolkata was the capital of the British Raj. By the time the British had left India, each state of the country exhibited British Influence on Indian food and culture. Indian cooking style mostly depended on the British pattern. Additionally, British influence brought about an essential change in the Indian kitchen. The transformation can be considerably seen as dining table replaced the kitchen floor as the place to eat at and porcelain replaced the banana leaf as the utensil to eat. The concept of knives and forks was introduced as western utensils. To this day, influence of the brutish cooking style significantly mesmerised the Indian culinary.
      Anglo-Indian food is the delicious result of the British Raj in India. Indian Khansamas (cooks) took aspects of British cuisine and amalgamated them with Indian methods of cooking, spices, ingredients to create Anglo-Indian Cuisine! There are soups tempered with cumin and red chillies, roasts cooked in whole spices like cloves, pepper and cinnamon, rissoles and croquettes flavored with turmeric and garam masala. Over the years, Anglo-Indian cooking has become more Indian than British.
    KPC school of Nutrition and Food, Kolkata has organised their annual event, named "Nutrifest" this year, where the theme is " Raj remnant : Laat Saaheber Bangali khansama" which loosely translates as British influence on Bengali Food, and Kolkata Food Bloggers(KFB) are working as a co-organiser of the event. As a member of KFB, I've prepared a dish which is part of our bengali cuisine now but has an immense amount of British influence on it. This dish is mostly seen in Social clubs of Kolkata, not a regular at home though.

This chicken dish, "Country Captain Chicken", which has its origins in the British Raj in India. You must be wondering about the strange name. In the 19^th century, British trade ships in India, were called 'Country Ships' and their Captains were known as 'Country Captains'. Country Captain Chicken was a popular dish at their tables and got its name through this association. Actually, when officers were out in the countryside from the confines of their garrisons and clubs and their regular cooks were not with them, this recipe was cooked and served to the british officers by their ship captains. It is a very mildly spiced chicken dish and perfect for people who are not accustomed to spices. This recipe is inspired from "The Calcutta Cookbook by Simon Parkes and Udit Sarkel"



You need ::

Chicken : 500 gm.
Oil : 2-3 tblsp.
Turmeric powder : 2 tsp.
Onions : 2 (medium), peeled and cut into big chunks
Salt to taste
Cashew nuts : 50 gm.
Onion : 2, sliced/chopped and crisply fried
Ginger : 1"
Garlic pods : 4(big)
Cumin seeds : 1tsp.
Bay leaves : 2
Coriander powder : 1 tblsp.
Red chilli powder to taste
Fresh Cream : 2 tblsp.
Saffron strands : a good pinch
Fresh mint leaves : 2 sprigs, finely chopped
Fresh coriander : 4 sprigs, finely chopped
Garam masala : 1 tsp.

To Garnish ::
Ghee : 1 tblsp.
Tomato :  1 large, seeded and cut into strips
Green chillies : 2, slitted, deseeded and finely chopped (add as per your tolerance level)
Ginger Juliennes : very few(optional)

How To ::

• Cut chicken in medium size pieces. Coat the chicken pieces with 1 tsp. turmeric powder and 11/2 tsp. salt, set aside for ½ an hour.
• Boil 2 big chunked onions and cashew nuts in water until onions are soft. When cool, blend to a smooth paste and keep aside. Seperately, grind ginger and garlic together to a smooth paste. 
• Heat oil in a saucepan, add 2 sliced/chopped onions in oil and in high heat with continuous stirring, fry them till they are brown. Drain on a kitchen towel to absorb extra oil.
• In the same oil, add cumin seeds. Allow them to splutter. Then add the bay leaves. Add the crisp fried onions and the ginger-garlic paste, cook until you get the aroma of cooked garlic for about 2 minutes. Now add the ground coriander, 1 tsp. turmeric powder, chilli powder as per your tolerance leveland cook for 2 minutes, then add boiled onion and cashew nut paste.
• Bring this to a simmer, add the chicken pieces and cook fairly gently for about 20 minutes, turning the chicken once in a while, until it is cooked through. If needed, add ½ cup hot water.
• When chicken are done, add cream, saffron, fresh mint and coriander leaves, salt to taste and the garam masala. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. The consistency should be medium thick. Put into a serving dish.
• To finish the dish, heat the ghee in a small frying pan and rapidly fry the tomato and green chillies in it. Pour over the curry and serve with some hot white rice. You can also garnish with few ginger juliennes.

I'll recommend my readers and blog followers and visitors to try out this dish. The taste is simply extra ordinary and perfect who does not like spicy food, as it is very mildly spiced and the touch of saffron gives this dish a distinctive flavour.