• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Foodle Club

  • By Category
    • All Recipes
    • Bread and scones
    • Cakes, cookies and desserts
    • Curry Recipes
    • How to …..
    • Main Meals
    • Picnics and Barbeques
    • Sauces, dips and marinades
    • Savoury Treats
    • Sides and salads
    • Collections
  • By Ingredient
    • Beef
    • Cheese
    • Chicken
    • Fish and Seafood
    • Lamb
    • Mushrooms
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Recipes using vegetables
  • By Cuisine
    • British
    • South African
    • Asian inspired
    • Italian inspired
    • German inspired
  • The Calculator
  • Free stuff
  • Meet Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
Home » Main Meals » Bunny Chow – an authentic South African curry

Bunny Chow – an authentic South African curry

Author: VJ Published : June 2019 Modified : August 2022 / 4 people have commented

Recipe
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Yummly
  • Twitter
  • Whatsapp

Bunny chow is an authentic South African street food, made from spicy beef, chicken, or lamb curry, served in half a loaf of hollowed-out bread. You can even make a vegetarian version by swapping the meat with butterbeans or chickpeas.  

A hollowed-out loaf of bread on a plate, filled with beef curry.

Contrary to what the name suggests, no rabbits were harmed in the making of this recipe 🙂

**As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.**

Table Of Contents
  1. What is a bunny chow
  2. How do you eat a bunny chow?
  3. What you will need
  4. How to make a bunny chow
  5. Can I freeze a Bunny Chow?
  6. Can I make this without meat?
  7. What can I do with leftovers?
  8. Pin for later
  9. Other curry recipes
  10. Recipe – Bunny Chow
  11. Bunny Chow

What is a bunny chow

If you’ve never tasted a Bunny Chow before, then you are in for a treat.  This is a deliciously spicy curry served in a hollowed-out loaf of bread.  The gravy soaks into the bread making it unbelievably tasty.  There is a saying that half a loaf is better than no bread – well, I’ve just updated it to be half a loaf filled with this delicious curry is better than anything.

There may look to be rather a lot of spices in this recipe, but they all work together to form a wonderfully aromatic curry. The heat comes from the chillies, so you can adjust this according to your own preference.

It may also seem as though there is too much gravy, but you will find you need a lot of gravy to soak into the bread.

The flavour of the curry improves on standing. I made the full recipe (it serves 4 people) for myself and hubby, and served the remainder of the curry with a bowl of rice the following night. If anything, it was even more delicious.

A Bunny Chow has nothing to do with rabbits

Contrary to what you might imply from the name, there are no rabbits in a bunny chow.  The name actually originated from the Durban Indian population, known as ‘Banya’.   Chow is of course just another name for food.  So Banya Chow became Bunny Chow.

The Indian population of Durban were mainly farm workers working in the sugarcane fields. As there were no shops near to the sugarcane fields, they had to take their lunch with them to work. So the dish itself probably evolved out of the necessity to carry a sloppy curry to work for lunch, without a container.  A hollowed-out loaf of bread served the purpose very well.

Bunny Chow has now become a favourite South African street food available at most corner cafes. In addition to beef, this curry can also be made with lamb, chicken, or even goat.

A hollowed-out loaf of bread on a plate, next to a glass of beer.
I would thoroughly recommend accompanying your bunny chow with a glass of ice-cold beer and using the inside of the bread to dip into the delicious gravy.

How do you eat a bunny chow?

A bunny chow is not the easiest meal to eat with a knife and fork. The traditional way to eat it is to first dunk the inner part of the bread into the sauce. Then you gradually break off bits of the bread-bowl (working from the top down) and dip those into the curry, scooping up pieces of meat or vegetables onto the piece of bread.

I prefer to use a fork (especially if I serve the dish with accompanying peas and salad), and also keep a plentiful supply of serviettes handy to wipe messy fingers!

You will probably find that half a loaf of bread is far too much for one person to eat, so what I tend to do is to cut a small farmhouse-type loaf into three pieces and just use the ends for the bunny chow. The middle piece of the loaf, along with the inside that gets removed from the ends can be turned into breadcrumbs and frozen for use in another recipe. This way, there is no waste and the portion is far more manageable.

And of course, if you don’t want to make a traditional bunny chow, you could just serve the curry over rice!

So without further ado, let’s get on with the recipe.

What you will need

Equipment

You will need a small mixing bowl for coating the meat with flour. I like these mixing bowls because they have their own lids, which makes it easy to cover the bowl while the meat is standing.

You will also need either a saute pan or a saucepan (both with a lid) for cooking the curry.

And finally, you will need a sharp knife and a chopping board for cutting up the vegetables and slicing the bread.

Ingredients

**You can get the full list of ingredients and instructions for making this bunny chow recipe on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

This recipe easily feed 4 people.

Ingredients for South African bunny chow.
These are the ingredients you will need for the beef curry. I haven’t included the vegetables in the photo.
  • Farmhouse loaf – this is a crusty unsliced loaf of bread and you will need half a loaf for one person. You should be able to buy small loaves in the bakery section of your supermarket which are ideal. A full-sized loaf will be too large.
  • Beef – this is good quality stewing beef, such as topside or chuck. You can buy it ready cubed, or get a whole piece and cube it yourself. I sometimes find that the ready pieces of ready cubed beef can be too large and will need cutting into smaller pieces. Try to cut the beef into 1-inch cubes.
  • Flour – for coating the beef before it gets seared in the frying pan.
  • Sunflower oil – for searing the beef.
  • Salt and sugar for seasoning.
  • Worcestershire sauce – for extra flavour.
  • Garlic – use finely minced fresh garlic cloves, or use ready-crushed garlic from a jar.
  • Mango chutney – or any other fruity chutney. If you don’t have a fruity chutney you could substitute with apricot jam and a tablespoon of vinegar.
  • Beef stock (not pictured). You can use a stock cube to make it if you don’t have fresh stock.

Vegetables

These are my suggestions for vegetables – you will need around 1 and a half cups of diced vegetables per person, but you don’t have to be too precise. Cut the tomatoes into a fine dice so that they break down into the gravy. The carrots and onions should be cut into approximately half-inch pieces and the potatoes into 1″ cubes.

  • Potatoes – cut into one-inch pieces
  • Onions – cut into half-inch pieces
  • Tomatoes – depending on the season the tomatoes may not have sufficient flavour. You can add a tablespoon of tomato puree to the gravy to compensate
  • Carrots – cut into half-inch pieces

If you prefer you could also add a finely chopped red pepper (capsicum).

Because the curry is served in hollowed-out bread we need to keep the pieces of vegetables quite small so that they fit nicely into the bread.

Spices

I like to mix my own spices because that way I can control the amount of chilli. You could use 2 to 3 tablespoons of ready mixed curry powder instead. Whether you use mild, medium or hot curry powder depends on how hot you like your curry.

  • Garam masala
  • Yellow mustard seeds
  • Fennel seeds
  • Turmeric
  • Ground coriander
  • Ground cumin
  • Ground ginger
  • Dried chilli flakes

You should measure all the spices out onto a plate to make it easy to tip them into the pan when they are needed.

How to make a bunny chow

Make the curry

Coat the beef in flour which has been seasoned with salt.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, and add the meat, a few pieces at a time, until you have a single layer of meat. Fry the meat, stirring continuously until it has browned on all sides.

Transfer the meat to a plate and set it aside.

When frying the meat, don’t overcrowd the pan. If you add too much meat to the pan at once it will lower the temperature and the meat will draw moisture and boil rather than brown. Rather fry the meat in batches if it doesn’t all fit in the pan in one layer.

Add the chopped onions to the pan and stirfry them on a low heat until they start to soften, then add the crushed garlic and stirfry for one minute longer.

Tip in the spices and stir well to coat the onions completely. Keep the heat turned down to low so the spices do not burn.

Add the tomatoes and continue to stir until they soften (about 3 minutes).

Pour in the stock, stir in the Worcestershire sauce, chutney, and tomato paste (if using) and then add the browned meat.

Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add the potatoes and carrots, cover it with a lid, and leave it to simmer for 1 and a half hours.

Top up with extra stock if it starts to dry out.

The meat and vegetables should be tender and the gravy should have thickened.

Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste if necessary.

If the gravy is not thick enough, mix a tablespoon of flour with 3 tablespoons of cold water to form a smooth paste and stir it into the gravy. Leave to simmer for another 2 minutes to give the flour time to cook and then spoon the curry into the prepared bread cases and serve.

Prepare the bread cases

If your loaf is very small, cut it in half, otherwise, cut it into three pieces. Keep the middle piece for turning into breadcrumbs.

Run a sharp knife down the inside of each edge, forming a square in the loaf. Be careful not to cut through the bottom of the bread.

Using your fingers, carefully pull the middle section out.

You can toast the bread in the oven if you would like it to be more crispy, or leave it soft.  The choice is yours.

Keep the removed bread for dipping in the gravy you eat the bunny chow.

You can also turn any unused bread into breadcrumbs by blitzing it in the food processor. Freeze the crumbs in a ziploc bag for later use.

To serve

Fill the prepared bread cases with curry and serve. I like to add peas and a fresh green salad.

If you prefer you could make a quick sambal by mixing 2 chopped tomatoes and 1 finely chopped onion with 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let this stand for half an hour before serving to give the flavours time to develop.

If you’d like to be notified of any new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter. As a thank-you gift, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

Can I freeze a Bunny Chow?

You can freeze the cooked curry, but don’t freeze it in the bread cases – make those fresh when you need them.  

You can keep the curry for up to three months in a suitable container in the freezer.

To use, allow to defrost for a few hours in the fridge, or defrost it in the microwave.

Heat in a saucepan on the stove until piping hot.

Can I make this without meat?

You can swap out the meat for chickpeas, butterbeans or kidney beans and reduce the cooking time accordingly.

What can I do with leftovers?

There is so much you can do with leftover beef curry.

  • Turn it into delicious snackwiches. Chop up any large lumps of meat and potatoes, spoon the curry between 2 slices of buttered bread and pop it into a snackwich maker or panini press.
  • Make curried dough balls – you can make instant vetkoek using a simple 2-ingredient dough.
  • Serve any leftover curry on a bed of rice for a quick and easy supper.

Pin for later

Why not pin this bunny chow recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can make it later. Just click the image below.

Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Other curry recipes

Perhaps you’d like to try some of my other curry recipes:

  • Easy lamb curry – a classic South African lamb curry
  • Lamb curry in pita bread – a handy way to use up leftover roast lamb
  • Vetkoek and curried mince – tasty beef mince curry served in vetkoek
  • Chicken Bhuna with bombay potatoes – including a recipe for homemade naan bread.
  • Bobotjie – a traditional South African mince curry bake
  • Easy butter chicken (Murgh Makhani) – everyone’s favourite
  • Chicken tikka masala – a delicious mild curry
  • Easy beef madras curry – you can tone down the heat by adding less chilli
  • Buttery garlic naan bread – with only 2 ingredients

And if you are looking for easy ways to cook rice, you’ll find step-by-step instructions in these posts:

  • How to cook rice in the microwave
  • How to cook rice in the oven

Recipe – Bunny Chow

A hollowed-out loaf of bread on a plate, filled with beef curry.

Bunny Chow

Bunny chow is an authentic South African street food, made from spicy beef, chicken, or lamb curry, served in half a loaf of hollowed-out bread. You can even make a vegetarian version by swapping the meat with butterbeans or chickpeas.  
Recipe by: Veronica
Main Course
South African
Calories 631
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 2 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Print Pin Comment Bookmark Saved!
Prevent your screen from going dark
4.80 from 5 votes

(Click the stars to rate this recipe)

Equipment

  • Small mixing bowl
  • Saute pan or
  • Large saucepan
  • Sharp Knife
  • Chopping Board

Ingredients

For the curry

  • 2 smallish loaves of unsliced bread
  • 1½ pounds (680g) stewing beef chuck or topside (cubed)
  • 3 Tablespoons sunflower oil for searing the beef
  • 2 tablespoons flour for coating the beef
  • 2 cups beef stock you can make it with stock cube
  • 4 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree or tomato paste optional
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mango chutney
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon sugar optional

Vegetables

  • 3 to 4 medium potatoes (cut into 1-inch cubes) approximately 2 cups
  • 2 medium onions (cut into ½-inch dice) approximately 1½ cups
  • 3 medium tomatoes (cut into small dice) approximately 1 cup
  • 2 medium carrots (cut into ½-inch dice) approximately 1 cup

Spices

  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes or to taste

Instructions

  • Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes, pat it dry with a sheet of paper towel and coat it in a mixture of flour and salt.
    1½ pounds (680g) stewing beef, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon salt
  • Peel and dice the vegetables and crush the garlic.
    4 cloves garlic, 3 to 4 medium potatoes (cut into 1-inch cubes), 2 medium onions (cut into ½-inch dice), 3 medium tomatoes (cut into small dice), 2 medium carrots (cut into ½-inch dice)
  • Cut the bread loaves in half and carefully remove the inside. Try to leave a casing about ½ thick all around.
    2 smallish loaves of unsliced bread
  • Heat the oil in a saute pan and sear the cubed beef. You may have to do this in batches. Once the beef has browned, transfer it to a plate and set it aside.
    3 Tablespoons sunflower oil
  • Add the onion and garlic to the same pan and stir-fry gently until the onion is translucent. You may need another tablespoon of oil.
  • Add the spices to the onions and stir well to coat the onions with the spices. Keep the heat on low so the spices do not burn.
    1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 tablespoon ground coriander, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
  • Add the tomatoes and continue to fry for about 3 minutes until the tomatoes start to soften.
  • Pour in the stock, Worcestershire sauce, chutney, sugar and tomato paste, then add the browned meat. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
    2 cups beef stock, 2 tablespoons tomato puree or tomato paste, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons mango chutney, 1 teaspoon sugar
  • After 30 minutes, add the potatoes and carrots, cover it with a lid, and leave it to simmer for 1 and a half hours.
    Top up with extra stock if it starts to dry out.
  • Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. If you need more sweetness add a little more mango chutney.
  • To thicken the gravy, mix 1 tablespoon of flour with 3 tablespoons of cold water to make a smooth paste and stir it into the gravy. Leave to simmer for another 2 minutes to give the flour time to cook.
  • Serve in the hollowed bread, with the centre of the bread on one side for mopping up any juices.

Make the bread cases

  • If your loaf is very small, cut it in half, otherwise, cut it into three pieces. Keep the middle piece for turning into breadcrumbs.
  • Run a sharp knife down the inside of each edge, forming a square in the loaf. Be careful not to cut through the bottom of the bread.
    Using your fingers, carefully pull the middle section out.
  • You can toast the bread in the oven if you would like it to be more crispy, or leave it soft. 

Notes

To remove the centre of the loaf, run a sharp knife down the inside of each edge, forming a square in the loaf.  Try to keep about half an inch away from each edge.  Now gently insert your fingers down one side and pull the bread away from the bottom.  Keep the removed bread for dipping in the sauce as you eat the bunny chow.
I like to put my hollowed-out bread into a hot oven for a few minutes to toast it slightly before adding the curry.  Other people prefer not to do this, and to leave it soft.  It’s up to you.
Check the amount of liquid.  Check the meat as it is simmering to ensure it doesn’t dry out – top up with extra stock if necessary.
Freeze leftover curry for up to three months.  Defrost in the refrigerator and then reheat in a saucepan until piping hot.
You can also serve this curry over rice instead of in bread.
The calorie count assumes that all the bread will be eaten, which is normally not the case.

Nutrition

Calories – 631kcal | Carbohydrates – 68.3g | Protein – 47.7g | Fat – 18.7g | Saturated Fat – 4.2g | Cholesterol – 113mg | Sodium – 1468mg | Potassium – 1305mg | Fiber – 8.9g | Sugar – 16.3g | Calcium – 173mg | Iron – 9mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I’d love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I’d love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you’d like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you. And don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!

If you’d like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Yummly
  • Twitter
  • Whatsapp

Filed Under: All Recipes, Main Meals

About VJ

In my previous life, I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, and you'll probably find a little South African influence creeping in due to the many years I spent there.

Previous Post: « Vetkoek and Curried Mince
Next Post: Orzo Pasta Summer Salad – perfect for a BBQ »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gunther Botes

    8 June 2022 at 8:56 am

    hi VJ , it is so nice to see that you are educating the english on a real original South African dish . simple to make , but absolutely heavenly . this is a must try for anybody who loves curry , also for those entrepeneurs out there , this will make a fantastic ” street food ” as the bread is your serving container , no mess no fuss, huge potential

    Reply
    • VJ

      9 June 2022 at 8:54 am

      Thanks – I agree – perhaps I should set up a stall somewhere 🙂

      Reply
  2. VJ

    21 August 2019 at 5:56 pm

    I’m so pleased you like it – I love the South African curries too.

    Reply
  3. Chris

    21 August 2019 at 5:06 pm

    5 stars
    I first tasted this in South Africa and this recipe really lives up to what I had out there. I love a good spicy curry and this really hit the spot.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to the Foodle Club

Hi, I'm VJ. Welcome to my little kitchen. Step inside and browse my collection of recipes collected over the years. More →

Lets Connect

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter


See my Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

By subscribing you consent to receiving the Foodle Club newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest updates

Close up of a pan of Thai red curry sprinkled with coriander.

Thai red curry with chicken and prawns

A dish of sage and onion sausage stuffing balls with one cut in half.

Sage and onion stuffing with sausage meat

Close up of a lancashire hotpot showing the lamb under the potatoes.

Traditional Lancashire Hotpot (lamb hotpot)

5 vol-au-vents on a wooden plank.

How to make vol-au-vents

Easy steak and kidney pie with puff pastry

A roasted leg of lamb being carved into slices.

Minted Roast leg of lamb – with homemade gravy

Footer


See my Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

By subscribing you consent to receiving the Foodle Club newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time but the books will still be yours to keep.

In my previous life, I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, and you'll probably find a little South African influence creeping in due to the many years I spent there.

Copyright © 2023 Foodleclub.com