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South African

Bunny chow

Non-vegetarian

A hollowed-out quarter loaf of white bread filled to the brim with a spicy Durban-style lamb and potato curry, the scooped-out bread used to mop it up. Durban's famous street food.

Bunny chow is a South African street food, ready in about 2 hours and made with lamb shoulder, cayenne / chilli powder and white bread. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
A quarter mutton bunny chow
Photo: Luke Comins / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h 40 min
Total
2 h
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
1074

Ingredients

4 quarter-loaf bunnies

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oil and fry the cinnamon (opens in a new tab), cardamom (opens in a new tab), fennel and curry leaves (opens in a new tab) for 30 seconds. Add the onions (opens in a new tab) and cook until golden.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Add the garlic (opens in a new tab), ginger, cayenne, curry powder (opens in a new tab) and turmeric (opens in a new tab) with a splash of water and fry for 2 minutes.

    • 2 min
    • medium heat

  3. Step 3

    Add the lamb and stir to coat, then add the tomatoes (opens in a new tab) and cook 5 minutes. Add the water and salt, cover and simmer 1 hour.

    • 65 min
    • low heat
    A sauce simmering in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Nanda Mends on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Add the potatoes (opens in a new tab) and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes and lamb are tender and the gravy is thick.

    • 25 min
    • low heat
    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Cut the loaf into quarters, scoop out most of the soft centre of each to make a bowl, keeping the scooped bread as a lid. Ladle in the hot curry, scatter with cilantro (opens in a new tab) and top with the bread 'lid'.

    • 5 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Durban, South Africa · Well documentedCreated by Durban's Indian South African community; the exact story of its invention is told in several versions.More food from South Africa
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Street food · Curries · Main courses
Cooking method
Stewed, Simmered
Taste
spicy (chilli heat), aromatic / warmly spiced, savoury
Diet
Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Ovo-vegetarian, Pescatarian, Flexitarian-friendlyWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food
Cook more with
Lamb shoulder · Cayenne / chilli powder · White bread · Onion · Cinnamon · Cardamom
Techniques
Simmering · Stewing · Slow-cooked gravy

Allergens

  • May contain: Milkfrom white bread
  • May contain: Eggsfrom white bread
  • Contains: Wheatfrom white bread
  • Contains: Glutenfrom white bread
  • May contain: Soyfrom white bread
  • May contain: Sesamefrom white bread
  • May contain: Mustardfrom curry powder
  • May contain: Celeryfrom curry powder

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

1074 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 746 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 16%
  • Carbohydrate 42%
  • Fat 42%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy1074 kcal144 kcal
Protein42.9 g5.7 g
Carbohydrate114.1 g15.3 g
Net carbohydrate102.8 g13.8 g
Sugars14.7 g2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre11.3 g1.5 g
Fat50.5 g6.8 g
Saturated fat16.7 g2.2 g
Trans fat1.8 g0.2 g
Cholesterol90 mg12 mg
Sodium1436 mg192 mg
Salt equivalent3.6 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1615 mg
Calcium
317 mg
Iron
9.4 mg
Magnesium
125 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
87 µg
Vitamin C
49 mg
Vitamin D
0.3 µg
Vitamin B12
2.8 µg
Folate (DFE)
—

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: curry leaves.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Eat with your hands: tear off the bread lid, dip it in the curry, then work your way through the walls.

Common mistakes

  • Hollowing the bread too thin — the gravy soaks through; leave walls about 2 cm thick.

Serve with

  • Serve with a carrot-and-chilli salad (sambals) on the side.

Food safety

  • Simmer stewing beef, goat or lamb until fork-tender; cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Storage

  • Store the curry separately; refrigerate up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat the curry until piping hot and fill fresh bread.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 3, 4, 5

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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