Serving of Bunny Chow
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Bunny Chow


South Africa / California   -   Bunny Chow
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 1/person
**
5 min ea
Minutes		 California? Well, it's almost impossible to find an unsliced loaf of plain white bread in Southern California - so here, a French Roll, same as our beloved Banh Mi sandwiches.

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Bread Loaf (2)  
Curry of Choice  
Carrot Salad
-- Garnish
Cilantro
DoAhead
  1. Make Curry of Choice. This can be made a day ahead or even more. Other curries can be used as you may wish. You will need 8 ounces of Curry per French Roll, perhaps a touch more. The curry should have a fair amount of liquid to soak into the bread.
  2. Make Carrot Salad - considered essential - (30 min).
Make   -   (5 min each)
  1. Cut the top off the French Roll, well above the centerline so you don't lose much volume.
  2. Using a sharp knife, outline the cavity to a depth of 3/4 inch or so. Use spoon or other suitable tool to scoop out the bread, making sure you don't get too close to the sides or bottom, and leave at least 3/4 inch at the ends. Do not discard the bread removed.
  3. Set hollowed French Roll on a serving plate and fill with hot curry. Garnish with Cilantro and/or chopped Red Onion. Place the removed bread along one side of the Roll, and a good pile of the Carrot Salad along the other side.
  4. You may provide Hot Sauce at the table for those who want to spice things up a bit.
  5. Serve with the utensils of choice. In South Africa, this dish is eaten with the fingers, using the removed bread as a utensil for scooping it out. Here, we're likely to prefer more formal utensils - I prefer a salad fork for this dish. The final breaking up of the bread will still be done with the fingers. The plate should be left clean when you're done. One roll with 8+ ounces of Curry, the removed Bread, and the Salad should be plenty for most people.
NOTES:

  1. Bread Loaf:

      In South Africa this would be a regular size unsliced rectangular loaf of white bread with a square cross section. An authoritive South African calls it "Government Bread". A Bunny most commonly uses a quarter loaf (kota) but can be a half loaf or even whole loaf. Here in Southern California an unsliced loaf of plain white bread is very difficult to find, so this recipe uses the same French Rolls as our Ban Mi sandwiches. For children it is recommended to use smaller rolls with a curry that's not too chili hot.

  2. Comments:

      Thought to originate as "Bania Chow", named for a caste of Indian merchants who ran restaurants in the Durban Indian communities. It was originally vegetarian, a version now known as a "Beans Bunny", but today it is most commonly a meat curry. This dish became popular in Durban around 1940. Some say it was invented earlier by Indian sugar cane workers to carry their lunch in. This seems highly unlikely, as the curry quickly turns the bottom of the white bread into mush, not real good for carrying. Bunny Chow has also been sold in Zimbabwe, and is still sold there in the town of Kadoma.
  3. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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