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Bunny Chow

bunny-chow.jpg Bunny-Chow-Served.jpg

YouTube: Bunny Chow - South African Street Food in a Cast Iron Potjie

No bunnies were used in the making of this dish.

What the heck is bunny chow? It's a simple, delicious and easy dish served in South Africa by street vendors. It's a curry stew served in a bread bowl, and it's usually made with lamb, chicken, pork, or beef. You can use rabbit in this stew if you want, though lamb and chicken are the most popular meats used here. Over the past couple of decades, bunny chow has become one of the most popular street foods in that area of the world, and it's definitely something that deserves to be introduced here in the United States.

The name "bunny chow" actually cones from the South African word bania. Over the past couple of decades, a large number of persons have emigrated from India to South Africa, and the Indian population around the city of Durban has grown considerably. Many of these people have set up restaurants, food carts, and other food stands. (This is similar to the way halal food carts have become commonplace in New York City.) These Indian street food vendors are referred to as "bania", but because the name has been repeated many times, it has evolved into the simple word "bunny." And so, when folks in the Durban area go to get a bunny for a snack or meal, they're not eating rabbits – they're eating an Indian curry stew served in a bread bowl. And that is bunny chow!

Pans needed: 1 large stew pot, cast iron dutch oven, African potjie, or other stock pot

Bunny Chow with Chicken

Place a large cast iron dutch pot on the stovetop, and preheat at medium heat. While the pot is heating up, cut meat into bite sized pieces. Remove any bones or skins if necessary. Peel and cut potatoes into large sized pieces, not diced or bite sized. Peel and chop 1 medium to large sized onion. Finally, peel crush and mince 2 to 3 garlic cloves and one small piece of ginger.

A number of recipes for bunny chow specifically say to use russet potatoes, probably because russets are usually the least expensive potatoes. Russet potatoes soften very easily in a stew, and this is why they are the favored potato to use in mashed potatoes. This is also why you should cut the potatoes into large pieces, not diced or bite sized: when the stew is ready, the larger sized potatoes will be soft but still retain their shape.

When the pot is good and hot, add oil to the pot, spread it over the surface, and wait about a minute for the oil to heat up. Add chicken pieces and stir fry them for a few minutes, until the outsides are browned. Add onion, garlic and ginger, and stir for a few more minutes until the onions are soft. Add spices: Cinnamon stick, curry, cumin, coriander, cardamom, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir again and mix everything together. Add garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes, and diced potatoes. Stir it all together. Add enough chicken broth so the meat is almost entirely covered. Add 1/4 cup flour, and stir it in to thicken the broth.

Cover pot and stew for at least 1 hour. After an hour, if the stew is not thick enough, remove the cover and let it simmer uncovered to reduce the liquid and thicken it. You can simmer it for half an hour to another hour.

Just before the stew is ready to be served, cut a small unsliced loaf of bread into thirds; or cut the top off of a bread bowl. Cut a ring around the inside of the bread, and tear out the insides to leave a hollow space. Save the bread for dipping in the stew. Fill the bread with stew, preferably until it is about to overflow. Serve with the extra bread on the side.


Bunny Chow with Lamb

I've made the recipe above with chicken several times and it's turned out wonderfully delicious every time. However, in the Durban area of South Africa, lamb is the most popular meat used in bunny chow. For an authentic bunny chow done in Durban style, this method is a little more detailed.

Durban Masala spice mix for bunny chow

Masala is a Hindi word meaning mixture of spices, and here in the Western Hemisphere the most popular and famous masala would be garam masala. Bunny chow is popular enough that some spice companies are marketing the spices used for making the dish, and this spice mixture is called Durban masala, named after the region where bunny chow is most well known. There are many variations on this spice mixture, though most or all of them use caradmon pods, cinnamon sticks, and curry leaves. Many of these masala mixtures also use cloves, star anise and even fenugreek.

Heat up a cast iron skillet for 5 minutes on low-medium heat. Add the whole spices (coriander, cumin, fennel, cardamom, fenugreek, cloves, cinnamon) and toast the spices for 5 to 10 minutes. When the spices begin to snap, crackle and pop, they're ready to be used. Add the toasted spices to a spice grinder, or a mortar and pestle. Add chili powder, cayenne pepper and ground ginger, and grind everything into a powder.

Place a large cast iron dutch oven or pot (or potjie) on the stovetop, and preheat at medium heat. While the pot is heating up, cut meat into bite sized pieces. Remove any bones or skins if necessary. Peel and cut potatoes into large sized pieces. Peel and chop 1 medium to large sized onion. Finally, peel crush and mince 2 to 3 garlic cloves and one small piece of ginger.

A number of recipes for bunny chow specifically say to use russet potatoes, probably because russets are usually the least expensive potatoes. Russet potatoes soften very easily in a stew, and this is why they are the favored potato to use in mashed potatoes. This is also why you should cut the potatoes into large pieces, not diced or bite sized: when the stew is ready, the larger sized potatoes will be soft but still retain their shape.

When the pot is good and hot, add oil to the pot, spread it over the surface, and wait about a minute for the oil to heat up. Add chicken pieces and stir fry them for a few minutes, until the outsides are browned. Add onion, garlic and ginger, and stir for a few more minutes until the onions are soft. Add durban masala spices, along with a heaping tablespoon (or more, depending on your preference) of curry, plus salt and pepper. Stir again and mix everything together. Add garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes, and diced potatoes. Stir it all together. Add enough chicken broth so the meat is almost entirely covered. Add 1/4 cup flour, and stir it in to thicken the broth.

Cover pot and stew for at least 1 hour. After an hour, if the stew is not thick enough, remove the cover and let it simmer uncovered to reduce the liquid and thicken it. You can simmer it for half an hour to another hour.

Just before the stew is ready to be served, cut a small unsliced loaf of bread into thirds; or cut the top off of a bread bowl. Cut a ring around the inside of the bread, and tear out the insides to leave a hollow space. Save the bread for dipping in the stew. Fill the bread with stew, preferably until it is about to overflow. Serve with the extra bread on the side.

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