Bunny Chow Day: Not just a meal, it’s a culture
Your typical bunny comprises a ¼ loaf of bread but some opt for ½ and even a loaf as well. More popular filling include mutton or lamb, chicken, beans and mixed vegetable curries.
DURBAN and bunny chows are synonymous. Ask many tourists and holidaymakers what they love about Durban and they are sure to mention the delicious bunny chows, among other things.
Legend has it that the bunny chow emerged from the indentured Indian labourers who came to South Africa to work in the sugar plantations. It was easier, and cheaper, for them to carry to the fields a piece of bread, with a hollow dug out in the middle, and filled with vegetable curries.
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Durban took over the trend of the traditional bunny around the 1940s and spiced things up by serving other dishes. Times have now changed and just about any curry can go into a bunny chow including prawn and meatball chutney. Your typical bunny comprises a ¼ loaf of bread but some opt for ½ and even a loaf as well.
More popular filling include mutton or lamb, chicken, beans and mixed vegetable curries. Pair these with carrot salad, chillies soaked in vinegar, pickles or sambals and you have the perfect bunny. Yum! Yes, it’s more popularly referred to as a ‘bunny’ because one never goes into a restaurant or takeaway and asks for a bunny chow – “May I have a ¼ mutton bunny, please?” – is generally how it goes.
Why is it called a bunny chow? Simple – the word bunny comes from ‘bania’, an Indian slang word for a Gujurati person, while ‘chow’ is slang for food. It has nothing to do with the furry, cute animal that hops around.
So you see; apart from the deliciousness, aroma and spicy fragrances that comes with a bunny, it’s also a huge part of Durban’s culture, so much so, that people even make them at home and there’s also an entire day dedicated to devouring the delightful dish.
Saturday. June 26 marks World Bunny Chow Day, so if you can’t make these dishes at home, support your local Indian cuisine eateries by purchasing one.
Apart from that, the Coca-Cola Bunny Chow Barometer takes place in September at Blue Lagoon in Umgeni Park where chefs, cooks and the like enter into a cook off to see who can make the best bunny. For Durban, bunnies are not just food – it’s a culture.
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