Bevan Bonhomme’s ‘Mom Dish’: Bunny Chow
What’s your favorite MOM DISH?
Bevan Bonhomme is from Durban, South Africa—and so it’s not surprising that his favorite dish is one of the city’s most popular: Bunny Chow.
Bevan prefers to eat his with a mutton curry, and even though this recipe from Tasty Recipes/SAPeople uses lamb, you could certainly substitute another meat in if you prefer!
The robust Indian population in Durban has had a significant impact on the culture, and Bunny Chow is a perfect example. Indentured laborers arrived in Durban from India to work on KwaZulu-Natal’s sugarcane plantations, and brought their culture (and curry) with them (1, 2). There are a few conflicting theories on how this curry ended up in a bread bowl. Bunny Chow is a less messy option to roti, which is a thin naan and frequently fell apart. In order to eat on the go and fill themselves up, loaves of bread were hollowed out, and used as a receptacle for the curry. Especially during apartheid, when black people weren’t allowed to eat in restaurants, the bread bowl allowed them to get curry to-go without the need for food containers or utensils (3). The name originates from the merchant caste that used to sell the dish—Banias, and the South African slang term for food—Chow.
Originally a vegetarian dish, bunny chow is now frequently prepared with lamb, mutton, or bean curry, and remains one of the cities most beloved street foods (4). One thing is certain—you have to eat it with your hands (3). Eating bunny chow with utensils would be like asking for a fork and knife at a NYC Pizza stand. Many people call it Bunny for short, and you can get it with a quarter loaf, half loaf, or full loaf of bread (2, 3). Inexpensive and filling, it is frequently served with a side salad of carrots, chilis, onions, vinegar, or Indian pickles (5).
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Sources:
Wikipedia - Indian South Africans
Wikipedia - Bunny Chow