This is a delicious South African Street food made with with aromatic spices, meat, chickpeas and potatoes served in hollow bread. A one-of-a-kind sandwich!
The dish is a fusion of Indian and African flavors and originates from Durban, a coastal town in eastern South Africa.
There are many stories as to how bunny chow came about, but most of them include Indian workers in the early 1900's. These workers desired a hearty curry to take with them for a quick lunch, and, with no takeaway containers or disposable cutlery, Indian food shop owners began serving them their curry in “takeaway” bowls made of bread. The bread served a double function, since it was also useful for dipping and eating the curry.
The curries were made and served by an Indian caste of merchants who were called Banias. During this time in Durban there were many Indian and Chinese workers in the city, and Chinese food was typically called Chow. These two words came together as Bania Chow. Over time, Bania Chow became Bunny chow.
While lamb, mutton, chicken, or beans are most common for the Durban curry, I’ve used beef in the curry for my bunny today. Feel free to substitute another meat of your choosing or even turn this vegetarian by using cooked beans instead of meat.
Prep Time - 15 mins
Cook Time - 50 mins
Total Time - 1 hr 5 mins
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
2 lbs beef roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ inch fresh ginger, minced
2 bay leaves
2 green cardamom pods, split
2 small whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tomatoes, diced
1 tb curry powder
1 ½ tsp chilli powder
1 ½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
½ cup water
1 tbsp white vinegar
½ tsp salt
2 white bread buns
Instructions
Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the beef chunks a few at a time, as to not over-crowd the pan. Sear the beef cubes on all sides and remove from the pan. Set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the oinions and sauté until golden, 5-7 min.
Add the garlic, ginger, bay, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Sauté until the mixture is fragrant, 1-2 min.
Add the diced tomatoes along with the curry powder, chili powder, garam masala, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Cook for 4-5 min, until the tomatoes start to break down.
Add the seared meat and diced potatoes to the pan along with ½ cup of water. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 30-40 min, until potatoes are cooked and the meat is tender. Check the curry occasionally during cooking and add a little water if it seems to be getting too dry.
Towards the end of cooking time, mix in the vinegar and salt.
Assembling the Bunny
While the curry is cooking, hollow each bun half out, creating two bowls out of each bun. (Be careful to leave enough bread around the edges to keep the structure of the ‘bowl’.)
To serve, spoon the curry into each half bun bowl.
Serve the bunny with extra bread, if desired, and a side salad.
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