Bunny chow, often referred to as a bunny, is a South African fast food dish consisting of a hollowed out loaf of bread filled with curry. It originated in the Durban Indian community.
Ingredients
1 loaf bread, white, unsliced, flat-topped
Whole spices
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cardamom pods
1⁄2 teaspoon fennel seed
1⁄2 teaspoon cumin seed
1⁄2 cup oil
1 onion, chopped
Fine spices
3 tablespoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander (seeds)
1 teaspoon hot ground pepper (like cayenne)
2 teaspoons turmeric
The meat
2 tomatoes, medium, chopped
2 lbs leg of lamb, in cubes (or beef)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground ginger
6 curry leaves
2 potatoes, large, in cubes
cilantro (optional)
Directions
Fry all the ingredients listed under "Whole Spices" until the onion is glassy.
Add the list called "Fine Spices". "Stir and fry until the spices stick to the bottom of the pot. If you have a good Teflon-coated pot, go and buy a cheap one first.".
Now add the tomatoes, and stir until everything sticking to the pot bottom comes loose.
Add the meat, ginger, garlic and curry leaves.
Simmer for half an hour or more, until the meat is almost tender, then add a little water and the potato cubes.
Simmer until meat is tender.
The bread:.
It should be the unsliced rectangular loaf with the flat top, known in South Africa as a "Government sandwich loaf".
You could cut the bread across into two, three or four even chunks, depending on how hungry the eaters will be.
Whatever you decide, with a sharp knife cut out most of the soft white bread, leaving a thick wall and bottom. Keep the bread you removed.
Ladle the curry into the hollows, and then put back on top the bread you removed. You could use this bread to help eat the curry, as "this is ALWAYS eaten with the hands".
(Actually, any kind of curry goes into a bunny chow. It depends on the cook and your tastes!).
