Sunday Soup Day: Bunny Chow

Well, it's officially here. It's now football season and that means Sunday Soup Day is back! I've been anticipating a slight drop in temperature that would demand warm soup on lazy weekends. We got it this weekend and I took an adventurous route and created a fantastic soup that is new to our family: Bunny Chow.

Bunny Chow is a traditional curry dish that originated in Durban, South Africa in the 1940's. Legend says that the curry dishes were created for individuals outside of a famous vegetarian restaurant. The owner scooped his curry dish into hollowed-out pieced of bread, covered it with the remaining bread and wrapped it up. Because of the caste system, certain people groups were forbidden to eat with others, but the owner sent the chow to the "outsiders." It became popular and versions of the original Bunny Chow can be found at specialty restaurants all over the world. The word bunny is thought to have originated from the Sanskrit word Banijy (or Bania caste - an occupational title describing business people and traders).

I was watching the Food Network a few weeks ago and saw a version of Bunny Chow that reviewers raved about. It looked really good on screen so I took special note of it and quickly wrote down what I thought I saw inside and set out create my own version.

I knew that I wanted to include the following ingredients: chick peas/garbanzo beans, red peppers, green peppers, onions, ginger, curry, cream, tomatoes, coconut and cashews. I peeked at a few recipes online and realized I needed to add a jalapeno pepper, too. Then I stuck with what I saw on tv and went at it with no plan or recipe.

I sauteed the vegetables in some butter and added the curry and fresh ginger before adding chicken broth and half-and-half. I also added the coconut and cashews after the broth. Then, I added the beans and tomatoes. I used one of each of the vegetables mentioned and two cans of beans. I also threw in more seasoning before letting the soup simmer for about 15-20 minutes that included salt, garlic, corriander, fenugreek, black pepper and cumin.

It turned out so well I wish I had a clear recipe so I can make it again and help others make make it, too. It was an original and the Panera bread bowls added to the perfection. I think the spices may have been a little too much for my taste if the sourdough bread wasn't there to offset them. We sat with friends and ate the soup for almost an hour and we couldn't say enough good things about the food.