Vetkoek bunny chows produce a ‘cuisine blend’
"I mean if I go to Hong Kong, I want the local food - I don't want to head for the nearest KFC.'
Innovative local culinary expert, AJ Singh, has combined two iconic dishes from two different South African cultures.
AJ took an Afrikaans and South African favourite, the vetkoek, and classic ‘Indian’ bunny chow and produced his own brand of local cuisine.
Vetkoek is a traditional South African fried dough bread. The vetkoek forms part of South African culture. It is similar to the Caribbean Johnny cake, the Dutch oliebol, and the Mexican sopaipillas. The word vetkoek literally means “fat cake” in Afrikaans.
It is similar in shape to a doughnut without a hole and is made with a yeast dough. It is a regular at any Church bazaar and is usually served with mince or sometimes syrup.
Then there is the bunny chow. Bunny chow, often referred to simply as a bunny, is an Indian South African fast food dish consisting of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry and a serving of salad on the side.
It originated among Indian South Africans of KZN. It is usually served with chicken, mutton, or beans – and is very aromatic, tasty, and very filling. Using brown bread is very uncool when it comes to bunny cuisine. However, it is unheard of in the Indian motherland.
“So here I was considering typical South African food – the braai, the wors, the pap, and of course the curries which are my forte. I have a friend, a white guy whose wife makes vetkoek, and the idea struck me – how about combining the vetkoek and the bunny,” AJ enthused.
And so it was. the mini vetkoek bunnies in mutton curry, chicken curry, and Baked beans curry flavours.
AJ says the reaction has been ‘very positive and tasty’ with those who never normally eat curry, trying out the new ‘cuisine blend’.
“The vetkoek is nice and dough and tasty and then you get into the mutton curry pieces – it is a taste bud explosion,” exclaims AJ.
He is not sure if this innovation is a ‘first’ but says friends have advised him to ‘patent’ the recipe.
“I just enjoy tinkering with various foods. Food should be an adventure and we should not be wrapped in the same old, same old. I mean if I go to Hong Kong, I want the local food – I don’t want to head for the nearest KFC.”
If you are keen to try AJs vetkoek bunny call him at 060 926 8269. He is a home cook!
