This truly South African dish, dated to the 1940's, originated from the large Indian community in Durban who needed to replace the traditional roti which, by that time, was hard to find. They needed a substantial vessel to carry their curries and accordingly halved and hollowed out this affordable and easily found white bread loaf.
Bunny chows were originally made with vegetable curries but later also developed a meatier version. This version was made with a traditional garam masala mutton curry that is as mild (or spicy) as you enjoy. Aromatics in this mutton curry comes from ginger, cinnamon, garam masala, cumin, coriander and curry seeds.
Styling and Photography by Stéan Kruger Photography.
Recipe by Martin Kruger.
This curry is perfect to be used in a bunny chow, or simply served as a delicious, aromatic curry over basmati rice or a butter roti!
Serves: 6
Prep. Time: less than 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-2.5 hours
Ingredients:
2 kg lamb, knuckles
2 onions, finely chopped
4 tbsp/ 60 ml olive oil
3 Garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
2 tsp chili powder, heaped or to taste
2 tsp curry seeds
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp cumin seeds, grounded
2 tsp coriander seeds, grounded
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 ¼ tsp turmeric
3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped OR 1 can, chopped and peeled
1 green pepper, finely diced
5 large potatoes, sliced into large chunks
125 g Greek yoghurt
Salt & pepper to season
Sambal:
1 tomato, diced finely
½ red onion, diced finely
½ cup coriander leaves, chopped
½ chili, finely diced
Salt, pepper, vinegar and sugar to taste
Method:
Over high heat, add half the oil to a heavy cast iron casserole. Brown and caramelize the meat in small batches. Remove from the casserole.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the remaining oil to the casserole. Add the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Gently fry for 1 minute.
Add the onions. Braise until browned.
Add the green pepper, garlic, ginger and curry seeds. Fry for 2 minutes. Add the chili powder, turmeric, masala, cumin -and coriander seeds
Add 1 cup of boiling water and cook through until fragrant. Be careful not to let it burn.
Add the meat and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and allow to cook until cooked through and tender. This takes approximately 2- 2 ½ hours but depends greatly on the meat. Add more water as necessary.
Once the meat is tender, add the potatoes and cook until soft. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the yoghurt to make the curry creamy.
Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt, fresh coriander leaves and a tomato and onion sambal.
Notes:
This curry can be made as mild or spicy to taste. Simply add more chili!
Can be served with rice or roti's as alternative to the half loaf.
If the curry is too spicy, add a dollop of yoghurt when serving.
For more recipes, extraordinary food and lifestyle content, visit me on Instagram!
Stéan Kruger Photography: https://www.instagram.com/stean_kruger_photography/
The Photographer's Blog: https://www.instagram.com/the.photographers.blog/
Comments