Bunny Chow

Story

Bunny chow was created in Durban in the 1940s among the city's Indian South African community, the largest concentration of people of Indian descent outside India, whose ancestors had arrived from the 1860s as indentured labourers on KwaZulu-Natal sugar cane plantations. The name bunny is a corruption of bania, the Sanskrit-rooted word for the Gujarati merchant caste who ran many of the restaurants along Grey Street, Durban's Indian business district. The dish emerged as a practical solution under apartheid: because Black South Africans were barred from eating inside Indian-owned restaurants, curry was served in a hollowed-out quarter loaf of white bread so it could be eaten on the street without any vessel that needed returning. Journalist and author Minal Hajratwala has traced the first beans bunny to her great-great-uncle G.C. Kapitan, whose eponymous Durban restaurant served a young Nelson Mandela at its Johannesburg offshoot.

Ingredients

• For the curry:
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced into rings
• 2 to 3 fresh curry leaves
• 4 teaspoons Durban masala or hot curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1.5 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
• 1.5 teaspoons garlic, crushed
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 kg bone-in lamb, cut into large chunks
• 3 to 4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• Salt to taste
• Fresh coriander leaves, to garnish
• For serving:
• 2 small square white bread loaves (farmhouse style)
• Grated carrot and finely sliced onion, to serve alongside

Method

• 1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, onion, and curry leaves. Fry, stirring occasionally, until the onion is deep golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes.
• 2. Add the Durban masala, turmeric, ginger, and garlic. Stir for 30 seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the tomatoes break down and the mixture resembles a thick, aromatic paste and the red oil begins to separate, about 8 minutes.
• 3. Add the lamb pieces and stir to coat thoroughly in the spice base. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, turning the meat to colour on all sides.
• 4. Add the potatoes and 60 ml of water. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, checking regularly to ensure the bottom does not catch. Add a splash more water only if needed. The gravy should be thick and clinging, not soupy.
• 5. When the lamb is cooked through and the potatoes are tender, stir in the garam masala. Taste and adjust salt. Simmer uncovered for a further 5 minutes.
• 6. To assemble: cut each loaf in half across the middle to give two thick blocks. Using your fingers or a spoon, scoop out most of the soft interior of each piece to create a deep bread bowl, leaving the crust walls intact. Reserve the scooped-out bread (called the virgin) for dipping.
• 7. First ladle a spoonful of the rich gravy down the inside walls of the bread bowl to begin soaking the crust. Then spoon the curry generously into each hollowed loaf. Tuck a piece of potato in first, then fill with meat and more gravy.
• 8. Serve immediately, topped with fresh coriander and accompanied by the virgin bread for dipping and the grated carrot and onion salad.

Common questions