Bunny Chow - authentic Durban style.
In Durban, when you order Indian food, they will check if you want it “Hot”, “Hot Hot”, or “Hot Hot Hot”.
This is a good tip to remember when ordering at Nush, a newish Indian place on Plein St.
I was told that this place is about as authentic Durban Indian as you can get in Cape Town.
That meant ordering a Bunny Chow, which arrived with a main loaf filled with a delicious and not too hot mutton curry, and two half loaves, one filled with chicken curry and the other vegetable.
If the mutton was “Hot” then the vegetable was Hot Hot Hot!
But, with the aid of some yoghurt, the burn rapidly subsided. After I wiped my streaming eyes and had a glass of water I felt great.
A bloody big Harley sits in the restaurant. There's no connection with hot curry and riding one.
I knew a man once, back in the day, and if he did not get a burning curry at least once every three months he would go into withdrawal symptoms. He used to run a sugar factory in Madagascar, and developed his taste for curries there.
I get the curry thing, and having travelled across India and Sri Lanka and eaten my fair share, I feel that what you generally get in South Africa is a “version” of the real thing, made bland for locals and tourists.
The most popular dishes at Nush are mutton and potato curry with rice and chicken and pea curry.
The decor is clean, minimalist, with hints of the Raj.
But hold up!, it’s not all about curry – the Indian breakfasts, although I didn’t have one, read sublimely.
How about Jutland sardines mashed with onion and fresh green chilli? Or eggs poached in tomato chutney and served with braised jeera potato and dhania flavoured sausage?
I’d give Nush the vote for the “Most Authentic Durban Indian” that I’ve eaten in Capr Town.
Open 7am – 4pm Monday – Saturday. Open for dinner at 6:30pm on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Starters R22-R35. Mains R55 – R120.
Nush,
Pleinpark Building
69 Plein Street
021 461 2524
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