Twist on tradition with bunny chow bites

The other day, a new friend with a Capetonian accent said I sounded like I had a foreign twang.

“What language do you speak? What’s your mother tongue?” she asked.

“Well, I grew up speaking, uh, private school,” I replied, and we burst out laughing.

My grandparents were English teachers, my mother was too and my entire family speaks with the same “neutral” SA accent, to be fair. It would feel performative if I were to speak any other way. I can spice up my English with local flavour (but not too much) — a little “yebo”, “haibo”, “lekker”, “jus”, “jol”, “eish” here and there.

A few summers ago, I read a book called The Good Immigrant, which is a collection of essays by people who identify as BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) in the UK. The essays explore the immigrant experience and minority life in Britain.

I was surprised that I related to the stories deeply, even though I am not an immigrant in SA. However, I have the immigrant experience of moving from one world “pre-democracy” to a new one, “post-apartheid”. From being surrounded by culturally similar people at school and in my neighbourhoods to entering a new world where the dominant culture was European/white.

I moved to an all-white neighbourhood, all white school and was immersed in a different world to where my life began. My first “multiracial” schooling experience was an all-boy, all-white, all-Catholic school that opened up to girls and people of other races and religions.

My parents and most people their age grew up in a segregated apartheid world, outside anti-apartheid activist circles, until they were at least 30 years old, having been at school and then work, living in areas with little to no diversity. This cultural consistency in my experience was interrupted by democracy and upward mobility; the idea that it was better to occupy spaces that were denied to us before, to move to areas designed to keep us out. Now we inhabit homes with high walls and swimming pools. And when we return to the areas we lived in before, we are foreigners.

This is the third-culture-kid experience of SA. We move from a world our parents grew up in and where our lives may have begun, to a new world with different food, customs and culture. I became a water polo captain, enjoyed steak and kidney pies from the tuck shop, was first in class for a few years, excelling at school like the model immigrants I read about in the UK. I grew up eating Italian food more frequently than anything else as my mother and stepfather were busy changing the world. We would enjoy lasagnes, pizzas and tiramisu as a family bonding ritual.

As someone who enjoys travel and food, I once spoke to a friend in Berlin about doing a dining experience. I suggested making a vegan risotto, as I was an Italian food enthusiast and vegan at the time, but was told that I should do something more authentic to my roots and heritage.

I didn’t grow up with a traditional SA Indian family, even though I look straight outta Durban or India. I’d never eaten a bunny chow in my life until I lived in Berlin and started making them. It was a performance. My first foray into theatre. I bought bread and spiced up some beans to make mini bunny chows.

My friends loved the concept. Who doesn’t love bread that is soaked in spicy, rich sauce? You can get in touch with your SA roots too with this twist on the tradition wherever you are.

Sugar beans bunny chow bites

Ingredients

• 3 baguettes
• 5 cans kidney beans
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Salt to taste
• Coriander, chopped

Instructions

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat.
• Add the onion and sauté until light brown.
• Add the garlic and ginger, and sauté until fragrant.
• Reduce the heat to low, then add the tomatoes and spices.
• Allow it to cook until chutnied.
• Add the beans to the pot, season with salt to taste and mix well to combine all the ingredients.
• Simmer for about 20 minutes and stir occasionally.
• Add a little water if needed to maintain the desired consistency.
• Cut the baguette into 4cm disks.
• Pull out a little bread to create a bowl in each disk.
• Place a few spoonfuls of the curry in the hollowed bread.
• Garnish with coriander and serve with mango pickle and carrot salad (optional).

Parusha Naidoo is an artist and cookbook author.