Bunny chow (Durban bean curry)

Name: Bunny chow (Durban bean curry)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: South African Indian
Ingredients: 2 cups Cannellini or sugar beans (cooked); 1 large Onion, chopped; 3 medium Tomatoes, chopped; 4 cloves Garlic, minced; 1 tbsp Ginger, grated; 2 tbsp Curry powder (hot); 1 tsp Turmeric; 1 tsp Cumin; 1 cup Coconut milk; 3 tbsp Vegetable oil; 1 tsp Salt; 1 Loaf of white bread, uncut

A hollowed quarter-loaf of bread as the bowl. Durban's answer to portable curry.

This is food that came with indentured Indian labourers in the 1860s and stayed. The bread acts as both the serving vessel and a starch. Eat with your hands.

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Method

01
5m
Sauté the aromatics
Heat oil. Sauté onion until soft. Add garlic, ginger, dry spices. Cook 1 min.
02
25m
Build the curry
Add tomatoes, cook down. Add beans and coconut milk. Simmer 20 min until thick.
03
3m
Hollow the bread
Cut a quarter-loaf. Pull out the soft centre, leaving a 1cm wall.
04
1m
Fill and serve
Ladle the bean curry into the hollowed bread. Tear the pulled-out bread into pieces for scooping.

From the source

Why this dish tastes the way it does

Born in Durban's Indian community in the 1860s, the bunny chow was a portable lunch for workers — a way to carry curry without a container. The bread absorbs the curry. The bread is the plate and part of the meal.

Served at

Lunch, takeaway, beach trips

Pairs with

Atchar (South Indian pickle), a cold drink

Per serving

560 kcal

Calories

22 g

Protein

78 g

Carbs

18 g

Fat

14 g

Fiber

Bunny chow (Durban bean curry)

Method

Sauté the aromatics

Build the curry

Hollow the bread

Fill and serve

Why this dish tastes the way it does

Per serving