Bunny chow/ja: Difference between revisions

{{About|a dish in [[South African cuisine]]|the film|Bunny Chow (film)}}

{{Infobox food

| name            = Bunny chow

| caption          = A "quarter [[mutton]]" bunny with topping

| country          = [[South Africa]]

| region          = [[Durban]]

| creator          = [[Indian South Africans]]

| course          = [[Lunch]], [[dinner]], [[snack]]

| type            = [[Curry]], [[sandwich]], [[bread bowl]]

| served          = Hot

| main_ingredient  = Bread, curry

'''Bunny chow''', often referred to simply as a '''bunny''', is an Indian [[South African cuisine|South African]] [[fast food]] dish consisting of a [[bread bowl|hollowed-out loaf]] of [[white bread]] filled with [[curry]] and a serving of [[salad]] on the side. It originated among [[Indian South African]]s of [[Durban]]. Throughout various South African communities, one can find cultural adaptations to the original version of the bunny chow, which uses only a quarter loaf of bread and is sometimes called a ''skhambane,'' ''kota'' ("quarter") or ''shibobo'', a name it shares with [[Spatlo|sphatlho]], a South African dish that evolved from the bunny chow.

==History==

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Stories of the origin of bunny chow date as far back as the migrant Indian workers' arrival in South Africa. One account suggests that these laborers who came to work the [[sugar cane]] plantations of [[KwaZulu-Natal]] (Port Natal) were required to work long hours with only short breaks. During their breaks the workers at first would lay out their food on large leaves, but as this was time-consuming and their breaks were short, the workers found a way to quickly put their food together without it getting cold or taking up most of their break{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}hence the bunny chow. The bread that they made was cut into a hollowed-out bread bowl which they put their curries and vegetables in. This was also useful as they would be able to take it out into the plantation. Meat-based fillings came later. The use of a loaf of white bread can also be ascribed to the lack of the traditional [[roti]] bread as well as its weak structure; thus the cheap loaf, widely available at local stores, would be an optimal substitute vessel for the curry.