Country Captain

Appears in

Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America

Published 2004

About

Country Captain is an American “curry” dish traditionally made with chicken, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and bottled curry powder. Considered a southern dish for much of its history, its origins are subject to debate. Legend has it that a British sea captain who served in India introduced the dish to locals in either Charleston or Savannah, port cities accustomed to both spices and sailors.

The first known recipe appears to come from Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book, published in 1857. Miss Leslie surmises that the dish was created by an Indian military officer who worked for the British. These officers were called “country captains” by the British—hence, the name. Since Miss Leslie’s book was published in Philadelphia, some gastronomes, such as the late and long-time Associated Press food editor Cecily Brownstone, have assigned the dish a northern provenance. In his iconic book American Cookery, James Beard offers three recipes, all with northern roots: Miss Leslie’s, an early twentieth-century version from Chef Alexander Filippini of New York’s Delmonico restaurant, and Brownstone’s.

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