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Sugar-bean bunny chow
Bean curry in a bread loaf
Durban Indian sugar-bean and potato curry served in a hollowed quarter loaf of white bread
Bunny chow was born in Durban, among the city's Indian community, where curry in a hollowed loaf became the takeaway lunch of dockworkers and caddies. Many Durbanites say the first bunnies were vegetarian, filled with sugar beans, and cafés around Grey Street still sell a bean bunny beside the mutton one. A quarter loaf of unsliced white bread is scooped out and filled with a fiery, red Durban curry, with the scooped-out bread (the 'virgin') put back on top for dunking. It is eaten with your hands, with grated carrot and chilli salad on the side. Chef's tip: the curry needs to be thick and saucy, not watery; a runny curry soaks through the loaf before you've finished the first bite.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the curry
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 green cardamom podslightly crushed
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 14 oz chopped tomatoes1 tin
- 2 potatoespeeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
- 1 ¾ lb cooked sugar beans or borlotti beans2 tins, drained
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 handful fresh corianderchopped
To serve
- 1 unsliced white sandwich loafabout 800 g
- 2 carrots (optional)grated, mixed with a little vinegar and chopped chilli
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a heavy pot over a medium heat. Add 1 cinnamon stick, 3 green cardamom pods and 1 tsp fennel seeds and fry for 30 seconds, until they crackle and smell fragrant.
1 minStep 2: Add 10 curry leaves (stand back, they spit) and 1 onion, and fry until the onion is soft and golden.
7 minStep 3: Stir in 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 2 tbsp Durban masala or hot curry powder and ½ tsp ground turmeric and fry for 1 minute over a low heat; add a splash of water if the spices start to catch.
1 minStep 4: Add 14 oz chopped tomatoes and cook, stirring, until thick and the oil separates at the edges.
8 minStep 5: Add 2 potatoes, 1 ¾ lb cooked sugar beans or borlotti beans, 1 ¼ cups water and 1 tsp salt. Cover and simmer over a low heat until the potatoes are tender and the curry is thick and glossy.
22 minStep 6: Mash a few of the potato cubes into the sauce to thicken it. A common mistake is serving it too wet: the loaf goes soggy and collapses. Stir in 1 handful fresh coriander.
Step 7: Cut 1 unsliced white sandwich loaf across into quarters. Hollow out each quarter, leaving a 1.5 cm wall and base, and keep the scooped-out bread.
Step 8: Ladle the hot curry into the bread, put the scooped-out piece on top and serve straight away with 2 carrots salad.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 720 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 118 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 18 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sugar-bean bunny chow take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
- What can I use instead of green cardamom pods?
- A pinch of ground cardamom per 2 pods.
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