Bunny Chow

Having grown up in South Africa, there are days that I miss a certain food that I used to love.  Boerewors are definitely on the top of the list, but another one which may seen a little weird, is Bunny Chow.



Now before you go and get yourself all worked up, there are NO bunnies in the dish.  NONE!  No fluffy anything in there, so don't let the name freak you out.  But what is Bunny Chow?  If you're South African or grew up in South Africa like I did, you know exactly what it is, matter of fact you may have tried in once or twice or many times, it's the perfect beach food when you're down in Durban.

Bunny chow, often referred to as a Bunny is a South African street dish consisting of a hollowed out loaf of bread filled with curry, that originated in the Durban Indian community.

Though curry and especially Mutton Curry is the most popular with this dish, there are quite a few versions out there, I've seen chicken, I've seen ground beef etc. Whatever you decide to try, it's delicious.

While sitting here this morning looking at my Menu Plan, I started craving Bunny Chow and just knew that I had to fix it for dinner.

Traditionally it is served in a half of a bread loaf, that has been hollowed out, then the curry scooped into the middle.  For me, the best part is that the bread soaks up all that curry gravy *drool*

Only thing I'm doing differently is that I'm making my own filling and using homemade bread bowls instead of loaves :)  You can use whatever recipe you have on hand, the one I'm using I've had for a while and found it on allrecipes.com.



Homemade Bread Bowls

1/2 cup water (70 to 80 degrees F)
1 cup warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

In bread machine pan, place the first seven ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).
When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into six portions; shape into balls. Place on greased baking sheets.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.



Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.



Cool on wire racks.



To make bowl, cut the top fourth off of bread; carefully hollow out bottom of each, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use).



I'm keeping mine to make some homemade bread crumbs as I'm running pretty low :)

Now for the filling, you can find a gazillion different versions out there, it really depends on what you like....but this is how I made mine tonight, just kept it very simple but it was still really good :)

Bunny Chow Filling

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
2 small tomatoes, finely diced
chopped garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons curry powder

In a skillet, add a little bit of olive oil and the garlic, cook for a minute or so, don't let the garlic burn though. Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Add the onion and tomatoes, salt and pepper and curry powder. At this point I like to add a little bit of water, not much but enough to give it a little bit of gravy and not allow it to dry up.



Cook for about 15 minutes for the flavors to combine well. Check frequently and stir, also remember to keep adding a little bit of water at a time, you want to end with a nice consistency and definitely a bit of gravy in there, just don't add too much, you don't want it soupy.

I know I'm horrible at writing recipes, I am such a visual and do-er person that writing it down is hard for me. :)

Once done, scoop into the bread bowls and serve immediately :)