Serves 2 as a main dish

It’s simple, it’s rustic and it’s tasty… it’s a Bunny Chow! You’ll find someone selling them on every street corner in Durban, South Africa. Ideal for that steamy tropical climate, yet also great comfort food for cold winters. Cut off the bottom of a loaf, scoop out the white stuff leaving a crust shell. Fill with hot chicken curry (don’t forget the sauce now), settle down and use the bread you scooped out to mop up and eat your curry. No cutlery permitted. Durbanite and Bunny Chow lover Richard says bunnies are best eaten sitting cross-legged while staring at the Indian Ocean with a bottle of ice-cold Coke by your side.

What you need…
• 1 loaf of bread (it is best to use a loaf that has been left a day since buying it so the edges harden up and the curry won’t leak out)
• 0.5 recipe Durban Chicken Curry (or any other curry of your choice)

How to make it…
1. Cut the loaf in half and scoop out the bread to create a small “bread pots”.
2. Fill each hollowed out half with the curry, put the bread you scooped out on top (use this to mop up the curry as you eat) and serve with chilli and carrot sambals. Squeeze some lemon or orange on the carrots and eat towards the end of the meal to degrease your fingers, clear your palate and freshen up your breath.

* Note: this is a Half Bunny (so-called because it is served in half a loaf of bread. For the really hungry simply cut the top off the loaf and you have a Full Bunny. If you want a Quarter Bunny cut the loaf lower (although in reality this should more like a third as a quarter of a loaf is too small and will leak).

* When ordering a Bunny Chow locals would never mention it by name. They would just say: “Quarter beans,” or “Half chicken”. Simples.

If you like this you should try our…
Sag Paneer • Chilli Paneer • Butter Chicken • Butter Paneer • Prawn Korma • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Chicken Dopiaza

How do you transport a Bunny Chow? … by hareplane.

Serves 4 as a main dish

Durban is often called the largest Indian city outside of India, with the South African city home to around 900,000 people of Indian descent. The first Indians arrived in the area that is now called Kwa-Zula Natal in the mid-1900s and it soon became the centre of curry in the country. People living in other cities frequently say they are visiting Durban to enjoy a “proper” curry. This chicken curry is lightly spiced and is ideal to be used in the city’s famous Bunny Chow, where a curry is put into a hollowed out loaf of bread and eaten with the hands.Durban is often called the largest Indian city outside of India, with the South African city home to around 900,000 people of Indian descent. The first Indians arrived in the area that is now called Kwa-Zula Natal in the mid-1900s and it soon became the centre of curry in the country. People living in other cities frequently say they are visiting Durban to enjoy a “proper” curry. This chicken curry is lightly spiced and is ideal to be used in the city’s famous Bunny Chow, where a curry is put into a hollowed out loaf of bread and eaten with the hands.

What you need…
• 350g potatoes (about 2 medium-sized potatoes), peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 600g chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Salt to taste
• Some coriander leaves to garnish

Spice Mix
• 5 curry leaves
• 6cm cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

How to make it…
1. Boil the potatoes in water until they are almost cooked. Ensure they are not soft as they will be added to the main pot to boil a bit longer. Once they are ready remove from the hot water so they do not keep cooking.
2. Heat the oil to a high heat, add the Spice Mix and fry for 20 seconds being careful not to burn the spices.
3. Turn down the heat, add onions, ginger paste, garlic paste and curry leaves, and cook until the onions soften (about 8–10 minutes).
4. Add the tomatoes, garam masala and turmeric, mix well and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the chicken, salt to taste and cook for 7 minutes. Add a little water if needed.
6. Add the potato and continue cooking until all the chicken pieces are cooked and potato pieces soft.
7. Garnish with coriander and serve.
• Recipe from information supplied by Awesome Creesen Naicker.

If you like this you should try our…
Sag Paneer • Chilli Paneer • Butter Chicken • Butter Paneer • Prawn Korma • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Chicken Dopiaza

Why do stupid evil guys never climb hills? Because they don’t want to be a High, der, Baddie.