Country Captain

Country Captain (literally land captain ) is a curry dish , which especially in the American South is popular. It's made from chicken that's fried in a pan and seasoned with curry powder, then cooked over low heat with ingredients like onions , tomatoes , almonds , garlic, and raisins . Rice is usually served as a side dish.

The first known recipe for Country Captain was published by Eliza Leslie in her cookbook Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book in 1857 . In it she writes about the origin: “This is an East Indian dish and a very simple way to prepare a curry. The term 'country captain' means a captain of the native troops (or sepoys) in the service of England; since their own country was India, they were commonly called Country Troops. The court was probably introduced in England by a sepoy officer. "

There are other theories about the origin of the dish and the name.

One of them says that it was originally a curry dish from India . The recipe is said to have been brought to England by a captain of the British Navy .
According to another version, it was a captain in the American Navy who brought it to Georgia . Savannah, Georgia , used to be an important port for the spice trade .
According to one theory, the name country captain goes back to an Anglo-Indian expression of the 19th century, which meant the captain of a foreign ship.
According to another interpretation, it was a term for a captain of the Indo-British Sepoy who was an Indian in the service of England. There is no dish with this name in India itself. However, the model could have been a chicken curry with onions from Madras .

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Patricia Bunning Stevens: Rare Bits. Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes. Ohio University Press, Athens OH 1998, ISBN 0-8214-1232-9 , p. 114.
Alan Davidson : The Oxford Companion to Food. 2nd edition, edited by Tom Jaine. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2006, ISBN 0-19-280681-5 , Anglo-Indian cookery.

↑ Original quote: “This is an East India dish, and a very easy preparation of curry. The term "country captain," signifies a captain of the native troops, (or Sepoys), in the pay of England; their own country being India, they are generally called the country troops. Probably this dish was first introduced at English tables by a Sepoy officer. " Eliza Leslie: Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book. TB Peterson and Brothers, Philadelphia PA 1857, p. 299.

[1] Original quote: “This is an East India dish, and a very easy preparation of curry. The term "country captain," signifies a captain of the native troops, (or Sepoys), in the pay of England; their own country being India, they are generally called the country troops. Probably this dish was first introduced at English tables by a Sepoy officer. " Eliza Leslie: Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book. TB Peterson and Brothers, Philadelphia PA 1857, p. 299.