Bunny chow
My friends and I went to a South African place for lunch yesterday, Madiba in Fort Greene. The ubiquitous samosa had crossed over — samoosa in South Africa, sambusa in Malaysia, Ethiopia and Somalia. I ordered a bunny chow, a bowl scooped out of half a loaf of bread and filled with stew.
There was no bunny:
African blacks and Indians were not allowed to associate with one another… but a way was soon found around this. they took to serving blacks that came their way through back doors or holes in back walls. Food had to be served quickly and quietly without the benwfit of flatware which would need returning, so a takeaway dish was born - the top of a small loaf was sliced off the loaf was hollowed out and filled in with curry, the stuffing served as a spoon. [Link]
One story… has it that a restaurant run by people known as banias (an Indian caste) first created the scooped-out bread and curry dish…
Bunny chows come in quarter, half and full loaves. When ordering a bunny chow in Durban, the local slang dictates that you need only ask for a “quarter mutton” (or flavour and size of your choice). Bunny chows are strictly a messy fingers affair, locals find the use of utensils quite amusing. [Link]
The chow was bland, but the biryani and the apricot torte were divine.
on Monday, October 29th, 2007, 2:28 pm in Food, History › 
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Madiba is yum. Next time, try the Seasonal Vegetable Platter.
In many British-influenced English contexts, ‘bunny’ is the bun (the half loaf scooped out).
I want to understand how ‘Chow’ became slang for ‘edible item’, though!
Does anyone know how far is this place from the Dekab Avenue R stop or is there a better train to take coming from Downtown Manhattan.
From the DeKalb Ave. stop, it’s a 10 minute walk.
Thanks Manish, I would give it a try this weekend.
Me, I like the fact that they serve you vodka tonics in a jelly jar.
Just kidding, the food is also phenomenal! We had the Bunny Chow when I last went, and it was soooo good.
Manish,
Thanks for the photo. It looks good, even though as you say it was bland. Take a few chillie packets with you or better yet some hot sauce or….
Glad at least the biryani was divine.
Best,
Laju
I love that Brimful spends more time in Brooklyn than I do. And I’m, like, next door.
I used to live a few blocks from Madiba. Mostly I remember it was expensive for the area.
I love that Brimful spends more time in Brooklyn than I do. And I’m, like, next door.
Well I hope all y’all New York Ultrabrownz come to the Sita sneak preview on November 17! (Shameless plug, I know.)
In addition to “samoosas,” South African Indians also eat “briyani.”
Other fun facts: Madiba is Nelson Mandela’s nickname (the SA papers use it in headlines), and the restaurant in Fort Greene is a shrine to him.
nice blog!
Madibas’ bunny chow is good. Now for the real Bunny Chow back in South Africa with the right ingredients …
It was nice to meet, albeit fleetingly, the legendary Manish Vij. Will drop you a line the next time I am in NYC so that we can extend our acquaintance a bit further.
I also hope to try some other stuff the next time I am in Mandiba (which should be soon, since whenever I am in NYC I stay in Brooklyn). Because whatever we tried left me vastly unimpressed with Springbok cuisine.
As for breyani… ah gimme the biryani anyday.
Springbok cuisine is unimpressive. I’ve tried a number of regional varieties and while there are a few I haven’t had yet, they’ve all been pretty bland, starch and meat focussed dishes.
Gaurav, and all Cartelians, you can be our Suspicious Browns any day.
dude, not all SA food is bland, for example a dish called Chakalaka
was available in cans and tasted a lot like achaar to me…