What is a bunny chow?
A bunny chow (or bunny), is a hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry. It is eaten by pulling off pieces of the loaf and dipping them into the spicy meat or vegetable curry nestling inside. How did the bunny chow get its name? The origins of the name ‘bunny chow’ are as varied as they are interesting – typically Durban, in fact! One theory credits the name as evolving from Hindus known as Banias or Baniyas (from Sanskrit va-n.ijya). Indian civil rights activist Mohandas Gandhi, who led the Passive Resistance movement against colonial oppression in Durban and India, was Gujarati Bania. Bunny chow legend one credits Bania cooks who used hollowed-out loaves of bread as makeshift containers to hold curries. Bunny chow legend two credits the name to migrant Indian labourers in the sugarcane fields of Port Natal (now known as KwaZulu-Natal), who are said to have created this edible food ‘container’ to carry their lunches to the fields. It is said that these delicacies were named ‘Bunny-
