PORK BUNNY CHOW

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Have you ever had a curry in a sandwich? It’s not quite as bonkers as it seems. The bread soaks up all the delicious spices. Bunny Chow is a delicious Durban icon. It created during apartheid for Indian labourers, who were brought to work in Natal’s sugarcane fields. The word ‘bunny’ comes from ‘bania’, the caste of the Indian businessmen who sold the curry, while ‘chow’ is, of course, slang for ‘food’. The most popular dish at the times was roti and beans. But the roti (a thin wheat naan) fell apart, so creative proprietors began using loaves of bread as take-out containers, scooping them out and filling them with the bean curry.

Ingredients

1kg Pork shoulder (diced)
2 Spanish onions (diced)
750g Tomatoes (tinned)
1 Potato (peeled & diced)
1 Sweet potato (diced)
400g Pumpkin (peeled & diced)
50g Fresh coriander
1 Green chilli (chopped)
1 Cinnamon stick
1tsp Fennel seeds (lightly crushed)
1 Bay leaf
1tsp Turmeric
5 Cardamom seeds
4 Cloves of garlic (crushed)
2tbsp Garam masala
50ml Malt vinegar
4 Crusty cob rolls
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pot, add the cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf and fennel seeds. Heat until the aromas start to fill the kitchen!

2. Add the chillies, onion, turmeric and crushed garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally

3. Then add in the garam masala and spices, followed by the vinegar and sugar. Mix well

4. Add the pork and salt then mix until the meat is coated with the spice mix

5. Stir in a small amount of the water and cover saucepan. Cook on a moderate heat for a 1-2 minutes

6. Stir from time to time until the meat is tender. This should take about 1 hour

7. Add the diced potatoes, sweet potato, pumpkin and chopped tomatoes, cook for another 45 minutes

8. You may need to add water when it is needed - don't let it cook dry

9. When the potatoes are cooked, stir and add the coriander and serve

To assemble the Bunny Chow

1. Slice the top and hollow out the inner of the roll, keeping it intact

2. Scoop the curry in and seal the bunny with the bread that was cut out

3. Place the bunny on a large platter and serve

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