COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN RECIPE BY MAYAFOODS

Country Captain is a curried chicken and rice dish, which is popular in the Southern United States. It was introduced to the U.S. through Charleston, Savannah, New York and Philadelphia, but has origins in India.

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INGREDIENTS

COUNTRY CAPTAIN

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp. bacon fat
• 1 whole chicken (cut into 10 pieces: wings, legs, thighs, and quarter breasts), patted dry with paper towels and seasoned with coarse salt and ground black pepper
• 2 cups diced yellow onion
• 2 cups diced celery
• 2 cups diced green bell pepper
• 1 fresh hot chili powder, seeded and minced
• 1 tsp. garlic paste 
• Homemade curry powder (recipe below)
• 2 cups good-quality canned tomatoes, chopped 1 cup tomato juice (reserved from can)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup seedless raisins

HOMEMADE CURRY POWDER

• 1 tbsp. ground ginger
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 tsp. Hungarian paprika
• 2 tsp. freshly ground coriander
• 2 tsp. freshly ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground clove
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch Colman’s mustard powder
• 1 pinch dried thyme

PREPARATION

• Place large ovenproof braiser 
or oval Dutch oven (in which the chicken fits in a single layer) over moderate heat, and melt butter and bacon fat until slightly foaming about 3 to 5 minutes. Raise heat, add chicken, and brown well on all sides. Remove crisped pieces to a platter, continuing until all pieces are golden brown.

• Lower heat to moderate and add the onion, celery, peppers, and garlic, using a wooden spoon to stir well.

• Slowly add curry powder, stirring well to evenly coat all the vegetables, and cook until they are tender, stirring frequently about 7 to 10 minutes.

• Add tomatoes, tomato juice, stock, and bay leaves, 
and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits.

• Bring liquid to simmer, return chicken to pot, and cover tightly.

• Cook on top of the stove over a low flame until chicken is cooked through, about 35 to 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

• To serve: Transfer chicken to beds of rice in shallow bowls, sprinkle with raisins and serve surrounded by condiments 
like grated toasted fresh coconut, thinly sliced scallions, crushed roasted peanuts or almonds, green tomato or apple chutney, pickled hot peppers, or pickled okra.

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MODAK RECIPE – GANESH CHATURTHI SPECIAL

Sweet flour dumplings stuffed with coconut, jaggery, nutmeg, and saffron. Steamed to perfection. A famous Indian dessert consumed highly during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. Modak is an Indian sweet dumpling popular in many parts of India. The sweet filling on the inside of a modak consists of freshly grated coconut & jaggery while the outer soft shell is made from rice flour or wheat flour mixed with khava or maida flour. The modak can be fried or steamed. The steamed version (called ukdiche modak) is often eaten hot with ghee.

Its a True Taste of East

Ingredients

For the stuffing

• 1 bowl grated coconut
• 1/2 bowl sugar
• 1/2 bowl jaggery
• Dry fruits (almonds, raisins, pistachio, cashews) as per your choice
• 2 to 3 tsp pure ghee
• A pinch of Kesar, cardamom and nutmeg powder
• 1 tsp poppy seeds (khas khas)
• 2 tsp mawa (optional)

For the cover

• 2 bowls rice flour
• A pinch of salt
• 2 tsp of oil or ghee
• Hot water as per requirement

Method of Preparation

For the stuffing

• Heat ghee in a pan. Add poppy seeds and saute for a minute.
• Add grated coconut, sugar, jaggery (broken into small pieces or grated), cardamom and nutmeg powder and all dry fruits. Mix thoroughly.
• Cook till all moisture from the sugar and jaggery begins to dry.
• It takes about 10 to 15 minutes for the mixture to dry on low flame.
• Do not overcook as it will harden up and lose its taste.
• Stir every 2 to 3 minutes till it turns golden yellow.
• You can add more ghee if the stuffing becomes too dry.

For the cover

• Boil water.
• Add a pinch of salt and 1 tsp of ghee to the flour and mix it thoroughly.
• Add 1 tsp of ghee in the boiling water.
• Add the dough to the boiling water. Lower heat. Mix well.
• Cover the vessel keep it for 5 minutes on low flame to let the rice cook.
• Knead the dough into a smooth paste without lumps.
• You need to knead it while it is still hot. You may apply some oil or ghee on your palms.
• If you feel the dough looks dry and hard, add some hot water and continue to knead till the dough turns smooth.

Making the Modaks

• Apply a pinch of oil/ghee on your palms and make small balls of the dough.
• Flatten it to give it the shape of a Katori or cone.
• Press the edges of the Katori-shaped dough with slight pressure at every 1-inch distance.
• The edges of the Katori will now look like the petals of the flower.
• Put some stuffing in the Katori and close the ends to give them a shape like fresh figs or momos.
• Take a leaf of banana or a soft cloth like muslin, and apply bit oil/ghee on it and place it in the steamer pan.
• Place all the modaks on the leaf or cloth and close the lid.
• Steam it for 5 to 6 minutes and turn off the flame.
• Your delicious modaks are ready to be served.

Tip: Do not over steam the modaks, else they will become hard.

For Fried Modaks

• Instead of steaming the stuffed modaks, heat oil in the frying pan and deep fry the modaks on low or medium flame till they turn golden brown from all sides.

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