South African "Street Food" Bunny Chow

South African “Street Food” Bunny Chow

Serves	4
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	1 hour
Total time	1 hour, 15 minutes
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Barbecue, Casual Party
Region	African
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

My take on the traditional South African street food dish, "Bunny Chow"; although this was originally made with beans and vegetables, and it more often than not made with lamb or mutton nowadays, I have made this recipe with chicken.

Ingredients

Whole Spices Step 1

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon crumbled curry leaves
1 large onion, peeled and roughly diced
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

Durban Masala

2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 treaspoon ground mace

Bunny Chow Curry

2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
450g chicken, skinned and boned, breasts of thighs (cut into cubes)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced
2 large curry leaves
150mls chicken or vegetable stock
1 whole loaf of white bread (cut in half and the into quarters, with the middle hollowed out to make a)

Garnish

fresh coriander to garnish

Note

My take on the traditional South African street food dish, "Bunny Chow"; although this was originally made with beans and vegetables, and it more often than not made with lamb or mutton nowadays, I have made this recipe with chicken. This recipe is fun to serve and is extremely filling and tasty. I created this recipe as part of my contribution as a "Spice Ambassador" for Schwartz UK and The Flavour Forecast with McCormicks' Flavour of Together campaign, as part of their 125th anniversary celebrations. My Flavour Story can be seen here: Karen Burns-Booth Flavour Story

Directions

Step 1	Put the oil, whole spices, onion and potatoes into a large pan with a lid and fry over a gentle heat until the onion is soft and translucent.
Step 2	Mix the dry Durban Masala ingredients together.
Step 3	Add the chopped tomatoes, chicken pieces, garlic, curry leaves and the Durban masala mix to the whole spices, onion and potato mixture and mix well. Heat over a low heat for 1 minute before adding the stock (water can be used too). Cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and the chicken is cooked.
Step 4	When you are ready to serve the Bunny Chow, place the prepared bread on a plate or a large napkin and ladle the curry into the cavity of the bread "bowls". Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with sambals on the side.
Step 5	The bread: the best loaf for the bread bowls is a unsliced, rectangular white loaf (called Government Sandwich Loaf in South Africa). Cut the top off the loaf, and keep to one side and then cut the main loaf into quarters or halves, depending on the size. Serve with the top of the bread (cut into handy pieces) which is used as a "dipping" utensil. Bread rolls can also be used. Cut into the bread with a knife to make a border and then scoop the inside bread crumbs out - keep them for other recipes. I made my own small white loaf for this recipe.