| Chicken curry | |
| Region: | Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa, British Isles, Kenya and Caribbean |
| Type: | Curry |
| Main Ingredient: | Chicken, onions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, spices (turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala) |
Chicken curry or curry/curried chicken is a South Asian dish originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is common in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Great Britain, and Kenya. A typical curry from the Indian subcontinent consists of chicken stewed in an onion- and tomato-based sauce, flavoured with ginger, garlic, tomato puree, chilli peppers and a variety of spices, often including turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cardamom. Outside of South Asia, chicken curry is often made with a pre-made spice mixture known as curry powder.
See also: Curry.
Indian cuisine has a large amount of regional variation, with many variations on the basic chicken curry recipe. Indian chicken curry typically starts with whole spices, heated in oil. A sauce is then made with onions, ginger, garlic, and tomatoes, and powdered spices. Bone-in pieces of chicken are then added to the sauce, and simmered until cooked through.[1] In south India, coconut and curry leaves are also common ingredients.[2] Chicken curry is usually garnished with coriander leaves, and served with rice or roti.
In south India, chicken curry may be thickened using coconut milk.[3]
This dish was introduced to the Caribbean by indentured Indian workers. At that time, the dish was very similar to the chicken curry dish of India, consisting mostly of sauce with few chicken pieces. However, poultry in Trinidad and Tobago was so readily available that the dish began consisting of mainly chicken, flavored with curry spices. Typical preparation includes seasoning and marinating the chicken meat in a green seasoning consisting of culantro, coriander, French thyme, thyme, scallion, onion, garlic, and peppers. Then the curry is prepared by first adding oil to the pot and then adding and cooking curry powder mixed with water, then the chicken.[4] When the chicken is fried, additional ingredients are added, and the dish is left to cook until finished. It is usually served with bread or beans.[5] Curry chicken and its derivatives are also popular in Suriname, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Lucia and other Caribbean territories with Indo-Caribbean influence.
In Southeast Asia, where coconuts, and different spices originated, various native dishes made with coconut milk or curry pastes and eaten with rice are often collectively referred to as "curries" in English.[6] Examples of these include Thai gaeng gai, Cambodian kari sach moan (Central Khmer: សាច់មាន់) and Filipino ginataang manok. Chicken curries feature prominently in the repertoire of Burmese curries and in Burmese ohn no khao swè, a noodle soup of coconut milk and curried chicken.[7] [8]
However, derivatives of Indian chicken curry may be distinguished because they are relatively modern and are made with curry powder, curry tree leaves, or other Indian spices, like the Filipino chicken curry and the Malaysian chicken curry, although they still use ingredients native to Southeast Asia.[9] [10]
Country captain chicken is a stewed chicken dish flavored with curry powder, popular in parts of the Southern United States. The Hobson-Jobson Dictionary states the following:
This dish dates back to the early 1800s. A British sea captain stationed in Bengal, India, shared the recipe for this dish with some friends at the major shipping port in Savannah, Georgia.
In 1940, Mrs. W.L. Bullard from Warm Springs, Georgia served this dish under the name "Country Captain" to Franklin D. Roosevelt and General George S. Patton.[11]