Vegetarian Bunny Chow

Bunny Chow, also called ‘bunny’ is one of the Indian community’s contributions to South African cuisine. Indian immigrant laborers are credited with inventing this dish nearly 200 years ago! They used hollowed out loaves of bread to put their curries in – an easy way to transport their curries while working in sugar cane plantations. This African street food is usually made with meat. My friend in LA made a vegetarian version of the dish for a party and posted a picture on Facebook and I got tempted to make it. This is a great party pleaser and so pretty to look at too!

 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used Olive oil)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste
• 1 carrot, diced (1/2 cup when diced)
• 1 small green pepper, diced (1/2 cup when diced)
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric, optional
• 1/2 tsp paprika, optional
• 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
• 1-2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1-2 cups water (use less water to make it thick if you like)
• 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
• salt to taste
• cilantro for garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions and cook on medium heat till the onions are translucent.
2. Then add ginger and garlic paste and saute 30 seconds. Add carrots, green pepper, and tomato and cook till the vegetables are soft.
3. Now add salt, curry powder, turmeric and paprika, cook 1 minute on medium-high heat.
4. Add chickpeas, tomato paste, 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Stir to make sure tomato paste has dissolved. Boil for about 2 minutes. Add more water if the curry it too thick. Turn off heat.
5. Add lemon juice according to taste.
6. Cut the tops off the mini bread rolls and gently scoop out the inside. Fill the bread ‘bowls’ with the chickpea filling. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve along with the scooped out bread for dipping