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Bunny chow is, in essence, a bread bowl. You take a loaf of white bread, hollow it out, and stuff it with a curry, either vegetarian beans or meat.
What is Bunny Chow?
This is a delicious sandwich and a traditional, portable and popular South African Street food that shows fusion like South African Cuisine.
Bunny Chow is made with aromatic spices, meat, chickpeas, and potatoes served in hollow bread. However, Although its history is controversial, it can be said to have originated from Indians in South Africa during Apartheid.
Where Did Bunny Chow Originate From?
There are many stories about how this dish came to be, but the most common one describes it as a completely portable dish served to black people during apartheid, South Africa’s 20th-century racial separation system.
“Bunny chow began as a way to sell food to black people who were not allowed to eat in certain restaurants during apartheid,” says Ameera Patel, a Johannesburg-based novelist. “The bread was used as a holder or plate, so nothing had to be returned after eating.”
The name is said to come from “banya chow.” Banya is an old name for the Indian population in Durban, and the word Chow is a cliché for food.
This innovative meal was cheap, easy to make, able to yield energy for a full day’s work, and can be eaten with hands or very little cutlery this made it the perfect meal for the indentured Indian laborers, who were brought to work in KwaZulu-Natal’s sugarcane fields.
However, It is best enjoyed when you start at the top which has the scooped-out bread the top and works your way to the gravy-soaked bottom.
Is Bunny Chow Healthy?
Many health specialists have insinuated that bunny chow is unhealthy fast food. You can tweak this dish with vegetables to create a healthy balance.
Bunny Chow
Ingredients
- ½ cup cooking oil
- 2-3 curry leaves
- 2 tbsp minced ginger and garlic
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 med onion diced
- 2 med tomatoes diced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 500 g potatoes cleaned and cut into cubes
- 42 g chickpeas rinsed and drained
- ½ tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1½ cup chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up a pan with oil over medium heat.
- After that, stir in onions, garlic, cinnamon stick, curry leaves, cardamom pods and curry powder until onions is looks translucent.
- Add tomatoes followed by chicken and stir for about 2-3 more minutes.
- Pour in chicken broth.
- Next add chickpeas, potatoes.
- Bring to a boil and let it simmer until sauce thickens or for about 25 minutes or more.
- Adjust for salt, pepper and stew consistency.
- Serve in hollowed out fresh bread.
