Cache a Bunny Traditional Cache
ScottScott: Sorry but this one will have to go.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Why not treat yourself to some lunch whilst doing this cache at
KZN's Best Bunny Chow winners?
The cache is hidden outside the establishment and enjoying a Bunny
Chow is not required but highly recommended.
Note: The curries are not very hot, by my standards,
so if you like your curries very hot please ask for some extra
chillies.
History
The bunny chow was created in Durban, home to a large community of
people of Indian origin. The precise origins of the food are
disputed, although its creation has been dated to the 1940s.
One story (which also provides an etymology for bunny chow) has it
that a restaurant run by people known as Banias (an Indian
caste) first created the scooped-out bread and curry dish, in Grey
Street, Durban. The food was a means to serve take-aways to
excluded people. During the apartheid regime, Indians were not
allowed in certain shops and cafes and so the shop owners found a
way of serving the people through back windows, etc. This was an
easy and effective way to serve the workers. They cut out the
centre portion of the bread and filled it with curry and capped the
filling with the portion that was cut out.
An alternative story of the bunny chow's origins (which similarly
provides an etymology) is that, as in India, merchants who
traditionally sold their wares under the 'bania' tree (also known
as the banyan, or Ficus bengalensis) were called 'bania'. The use
of this name is known in India going back to antiquity. It is more
likely that the name 'bania chow' was adopted to describe the
staple meal of Indian merchants than taken from a restaurant run by
Banias, although the true origins remain somewhat disputed.
Stories of the origin of bunny chow date as far back as the migrant
Indian workers arrival in South Africa. One account suggests that
Indian migrant workers from India were brought to South Africa to
work the sugar cane plantations of Kwazulu-Natal (Port Natal)
required a way of carrying their lunches to the field; the hollowed
out loaf of bread was a convenient way to transport their
vegetarian curries. Meat based fillings came later. The use of a
loaf of bread can also be ascribed to the lack of the traditional
roti bread, in the absence of which a loaf of bread would be
acceptable as an accompaniment to curry.
Cuisine
Bunny chows are popular amongst Indians, as well as other ethnic
groups in the Durban area. Bunny chows are commonly filled with
curries made using traditional recipes from Durban: mutton or lamb,
chicken, bean and chips with curry gravy are popular fillings now,
although the original bunny chow was vegetarian. Bunny chows are
often served with a side portion of grated carrot, chilli and onion
salad, commonly known as sambals. A key characteristic of a bunny
chow is created when gravy from the curry fillings soak into the
walls of the bread, thereby rounding the dish off with the fusion
of flavours & textures. Sharing a single bunny chow is not
uncommon.
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 mainly eaten using the fingers; it is unusual to
see locals use utensils when eating this dish.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vg vf nyy va gur fvta.
Treasures
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