Durban - It’s had 2.4 million views, more than 23 000 shares and 18 000 likes, plus thousands of comments, and it puts a Durban dish on the map.
It’s a BBC travel video featuring the “Indian dish you can’t find in India” – the bunny chow.
“It may be called a bunny chow, but there’s no actual rabbit in it, or bunny or baby bunny,” the video boasts. It stars Durban chef Shanal Ramroop preparing a perfect mutton bunny at CaneCutters restaurant in Glenwood.
And while there are a number of inaccuracies in the video, the comments show just how great the Durban diaspora is, with people around the world sharing fond memories of their favourite bunny chows growing up in Durban.
There is also a huge debate as to whether a bunny chow served outside of Durban can claim any degree of authenticity. It would appear the Durban dish is offered in restaurants in Soho in London and New York, as well as places like San Diego and Seattle, and even suburban Milton Keynes.
Then there are those who note that eating curry with bread is a common tradition in Kerala and Bangalore in India, and so the bunny chow is available in India. But that is not curry in bread.
The obvious inaccuracy is the BBC claim that the original 1860 Indian settlers came as slaves rather than indentured labourers, although some point out the conditions the early settlers worked under were in some cases akin to slavery.
The Independent on Saturday chatted to Ramroop, who said it had been crazy since the video was shot in August.
“Lots of locals and radio presenters have approached me. They ask ‘Shanal are you the bunny chow chef now?’” she says.
She’s had friends from all over the world hook up with her. “I even had a Facebook message from my Grade 2 teacher at Isipingo Hills, who is now working on an ashram in India.”
Ramroop completed her City and Guilds diploma at Fusion Cooking School in 2012 before doing stints at Harvey’s and then running 18 kitchens as group chef at Eat Fresh.
Earlier this year she opened her own restaurant and became executive chef at CaneCutters, before returning to her private catering business.
Ramroop said she learned to cook traditional Indian food from her mom, Shama, at age 13. “My mom is a very good cook. She makes the best curry.”
And what’s her secret to a perfect bunny? “The curry needs to be different from a normal mutton curry. The gravy needs to be thinner to soak into the bread. And the bread is important. It must be fresh,” she said.
“Also, fresh coriander is crucial. And there will always be something missing if there’s no carrot salad. That’s how my mom did it.”
The video goes on to quote activist and author of Indian Delights, Zuleikha Mayat, who says: “I came to Durban in 1947 and the bunny chow was already being sold. The merchant class of India are known as bhania. I am guessing the word came from bhania into bunny chow. Others will tell you differently.”
Ramroop says at school they were given a different history: “These curries were ‘smuggled’ into the farms in the bread, the bread acting as a lunch tin. But the bhania theory is more likely.”
Patel’s Vegetarian Refreshment Room, which opened 90 years ago, is believed to be the home of the bunny chow and is still operating in Yusuf Dadoo (Grey) Street today. The meat bunny is a much later invention once the dish gained popularity.
Owner Manilal Patel, 74, has told how it was created by original owner Rambhai Morar Patel because black people were not allowed to eat in the same place as whites. So as not to lose black customers, he started serving them curry in bread in a bowl outside the restaurant.
For Manoj Rama, executiv chef at the SunCoast Towers, which includes the upmarket Jeera Restaurant, it’s all about authenticity. He inherited a menu which featured the so called “posh” bunny – three different curries in three mini loaves.
“That’s KFC. It doesn’t say bunny chow to my heart. It’s a Durban dish and even the spices here are different. It needs to be authentic, spicy and remembered,” he says.
“It must bring back good food memories. That’s what I try to achieve.”
The other recurring theme in the messages that follow the BBC video are those who think the chef is as spicy as the curry she serves. “I’ve had to block a few people on Facebook,” she laughs.