When I mention 'bunny chow' nowadays, few people think of rabbits. In 2013, Chris Ying highlighted this South African dish in a curry feature for the now-closed Lucky Peach magazine. Since then, 'bunnies'—as locals in Durban call them—have popped up on menus from San Francisco to Brooklyn and beyond. Essentially, a bunny chow consists of a quarter loaf of white bread hollowed out and packed with Durban-style curry. That curry relies on 'gravy soakers,' a special type of floury potato called Up-To-Date, which melt into the sauce. But it's the Durban curry itself, not the plain white bread container, that makes bunny chow distinctive.
Durban curry is as fiery as Sri Lankan dishes, as vividly colored as the curries of Tamil Nadu in South India, yet it contains no coconut. It’s typically topped with a sheen of oil and sometimes a hint of tamarind. According to Erica Platter, author of Durban Curry: So Much of Flavour People, Places & Secret Recipes, it’s the only curry named after a city, and it has become the working-class hero of South African cuisine. This distinctive curry style traveled with indentured laborers from southern India, who began arriving in 1860 to work on British sugar plantations around Durban. Today, you can find variations of these dishes throughout South Africa.
The origins of bunny chow are murky and not entirely pleasant. During apartheid, Black citizens were barred from dining in restaurants or tea rooms, leading many to believe the bunny was invented in the 1940s as a portable lunch for them. Another theory suggests the creator was a Bania (Baniya) from the Indian merchant caste, who were often spice and shop traders at the time, and that the name 'bunny chow' derives from that. Soon, the dish gained popularity as a quick, convenient lunch for Indian, Black, and mixed-race laborers, including Durban’s former golf caddies who could eat it during short breaks.
Billy and Kanagee Moodley, who ran the original Victory Lounge in Durban’s former Indian Quarter (opened in 1945, closed in June 2017), assert that the now-defunct Kapitans restaurant in the same area was the first to serve bunny chow. Others claim Queen’s Tavern (also long gone) invented it, while some credit Patel’s Vegetarian Refreshment Room, established in 1932 and still operating under the owner’s son, 75-year-old Manilal Patel. Mr. Patel gives monosyllabic answers to my questions about bunny chow, and as one of the last surviving old eateries with scant written records, it’s hard to know for certain. It’s quite possible that bunny chow was created by home cooks and then successfully replicated by Durban’s Indian restaurants. The truth likely lies somewhere among these theories, but what remains is a dish that the east coast of South Africa is immensely proud of.
Many people argue that it would be a pity to leave South Africa without trying at least one bunny chow packed with the best of Durban-style curries: tender slow-cooked mutton, sugar beans (dried borlotti), broad beans (large lima or butter beans), or other curry varieties.
For under $3, a vegetarian bunny chow attracts everyone from food connoisseurs to thrifty travelers who seek out these plastic-wrapped meals—no plates or utensils needed! Use the top piece of bread as a lid to scoop curry from the center, eating your way outward. They often come with small but essential bags of vinegary grated carrot and green chili salad. All you need are your hands and plenty of napkins. Water, or even worse, cola, does nothing to soothe the heat, according to Chandrika Harie, a third-generation heir and operations manager of Durban’s Spice Emporium. Authentic Durban curry truly stings! But that’s where the generous bread 'container' helps: chew on a plain piece of bread before diving back into the curry sauce.
Serves 4
- 2 14-oz cans canned butter beans, drained
- 2 tablespoons sunflower or any vegetable oil
- 1/2 large onion, sliced thinly
- 1/4 teaspoon asafetida or hing (optional)
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise pod
- 2 whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 green chile, slit in half (optional)
- 2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
- 5-6 curry leaves (fresh or dried)
- 1 ripe medium tomato, chopped
- 2 teaspoons red masala (see note)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 medium starchy potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 handful cilantro, picked and torn roughly
- Salt, to taste
- Two unsliced loaves of white bread, using the ends for a “bowl”
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Tags: curry
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