Lekker chicken curry bunny chow

Chicken curry is a favourite in many South African homes, add a bunny (not the furry kind) to the mix and you have a lekker chow on your hands.

Food blogger Kirosha Kamal is sharing one of her favourite chicken curry recipes with us and it has her husband’s seal of approval.

“During the week I always ask hubby for his special weekend meal requests… he asked if I would make him a lekker chicken curry bunny chow. I happily obliged, and made sure that it was, in fact, LEKKER,” she says.

Kirosha documents her homecooked meals on her blog, Kirosha’s Kitchen, sharing both local and internationally-inspired dishes.

“When I cook curry, I generally never follow a recipe. I just go by on instinct and the kind of ingredients I have for that specific meal,” she says about her cooking process.

Thankfully, she put a recipe together for her tasty chicken curry recipe.

ALSO READ: Pictures: The Breakfast Team make their own bunny chows

You will need:

- About 1 kg of chicken pieces (I used 10 pieces of drumsticks and wings). You can also use a whole chicken, chopped up.
- About 4 tablespoons of Canola oil (or use whatever you prefer)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2 ripened medium tomatoes (grated)
- About 2 sprigs of curry leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- About 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- About ½ teaspoon of jeera powder
- About ½ teaspoon of mustard and jeera seeds each
- About 1 tablespoon of everyday wet masala (I use the Amina’s brand)
- About 1 tablespoon of masala of your choice (Use amount of masala that’s best suited to your heat preference)
- About 1 tablespoon of garam masala
 - About 1 tablespoon of ginger and garlic paste
- 5 Up to Date (UTD) potatoes washed and cut in half (must use soft cooking, UTD potatoes for the best curry!)
- 2 grated UTD potatoes (this will melt into the curry and make the gravy thick)
- Dhania (coriander)
- Salt
- Boiling water
- Unsliced bread

ALSO READ: Local Flavour: Durban curries

Method:

Start by marinating chicken with tomatoes, turmeric powder, jeera powder, everyday wet masala and dry masala, garam masala, ginger and garlic paste, grated UTD potatoes, salt, and a handful of chopped dhania (coriander). Leave to sit for about 30 minutes (if you have time, otherwise it’s not a train smash).

Next, heat your oil in a large pot (feel free to use more oil if you prefer), and add onions, curry leaves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, star anise, mustard and jeera seeds. When onions are cooked (translucent), add marinated chicken and mix.

Cook on medium heat, checking often that the curry isn’t getting too dry or caught to the bottom of the pot. Occasionally add boiling water and stir to loosen the curry/gravy.

When the chicken is halfway cooked (say about 20 minutes or so in), add the halved UTD potatoes. UTD potatoes cook fast so as soon as the potatoes are done/soft (will probably take about 15 minutes), check that the chicken is cooked, garnish with coriander and turn off the heat.

To assemble the bunny, cut ¼ (or your desired amount) from the unsliced loaf, remove some of the middle of the bread and press the sides to create a hollowed structure. Next, fill the bread with the chicken curry (as much as you want) and top with gravy. Serve bunny chow with some carrot salad which you can make ahead: grated carrots, diced onion, chilli, diced cucumber, sliced radishes, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Tuck in, lick your fingers and enjoy!

ALSO READ: Video: Breakfast in a bunny chow

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