Country Captain Chicken
dry-fried chicken buried in browned onion and whole red chillies, barely any gravy
Allergens in Country Captain Chicken: none of the ten listed below.
Ingredients
Quantities for 4.
- 800g, bone-in, cut into curry pieces Chicken
- 4 large, finely sliced Onionyes, four; they cook down to almost nothing
- 6 whole Dried Red Chillibroken open if you want the heat
- 1.5 tsp, coarsely crushed Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tbsp paste Ginger
- 1 tbsp paste Garlic
- 2, slit Green Chillioptional
- 15 Curry Leaves
- 1 tbsp Vinegarthe Anglo-Indian sourness, added at the end
- 1 tsp Sugaroptional
- 4 tbsp Neutral Oil
- 2 tbsp, chopped Coriander Leavesoptional
- to taste Salt
Cookware
stovetop, kadhai
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Rub the chicken with the turmeric, half the black pepper, 1 tsp salt and the ginger-garlic paste then cover and refrigerate it 30 minutes.
- Slice the onions as thinly and evenly as you can. They are half the dish, and uneven slices give you burnt shreds next to raw ones.
- This is a dry curry, so use a wide kadhai or frying pan rather than a deep pot.
Method
- Heat the oil in a wide kadhai and fry three-quarters of the sliced onion over medium heat until brown and crisp at the edges, 15 to 18 minutes. Lift out and drain.Brown, not black. Burnt onion turns the whole dish bitter and there is no rescuing it.
- In the same oil, fry the whole dried chillies and curry leaves for 20 seconds until the chillies darken and smell toasty.
- Add the remaining raw onion and cook 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
- Turn the heat high, add the marinated chicken and fry hard for 10 minutes, turning the pieces so every side takes colour.Crowding the pan steams the chicken. Do it in two batches if your pan is small.
- Lower the heat, cover and cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. The chicken releases its own liquid and cooks in it.
- Uncover, raise the heat and cook off the liquid until the pieces are coated and shining rather than sitting in sauce, about 5 minutes.
- Crush most of the reserved fried onion between your fingers and stir it in with the remaining black pepper, the slit green chillies and the sugar.
- Splash in the vinegar, toss for 1 minute and take the pan off the heat.Vinegar at the end, off the boil, keeps its brightness. Added early it just cooks away.
- Scatter the rest of the fried onion and the coriander leaves over the top and serve with plain rice or bread.
Safe temperatures: Chicken and duck are done at 74°C / 165°F, taken at the thickest part and clear of the bone. Reheat leftovers to 74°C / 165°F. FoodSafety.gov
Storage
Keeps 2 days refrigerated. Reheat uncovered in a dry pan so it stays dry; a microwave makes it soggy. Do not add water.
Nutrition Good estimate
One serving of Country Captain Chicken (390 g) is about 442 calories, or 114 calories per 100 g.
High protein: 45 g a serving, 41% of the calories
| Per serving390 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 442 kcal | 114 kcal |
| Protein | 45.3 g | 12 g |
| Carbohydrate | 19.2 g | 5 g |
| of which sugars | 7.7 g | 2 g |
| Fibre | 3.6 g | 1 g |
| Fat | 20.1 g | 5 g |
| of which saturated | 3.1 g | 1 g |
| of which unsaturated | 15.0 g | 4 g |
Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Nearest database match used for curry leaves. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
More like this: Gluten-free Indian recipes · Dairy-free Indian recipes · Anglo-Indian recipes
Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.