The Spice Route - Searching the Senses for the Ultimate Curry

In the midst of the cold winter months, a great way to warm up and give your immune system a quick boost is with a fragrant curry.

My personal favourite is chicken curry (as opposed to beef, fish or mutton) and I’ve long been on the hunt to crack the code for the perfect local recipe.

Ask any South African where to look and many folks will tell you it’s around the coastal hub of Durban.

Most of my close friends growing up came from, or had family in Durban so I have to admit I’m somewhat biased to agree - I haven’t quite found anybody, including myself, that can make chicken curry as good as ‘Aunty’ can.

Interestingly enough, Durban has been found to have the highest concentration of Indian people outside of India - about 800 000 people (and counting) living there today**.**

Being a purveyor of authentic and interesting tastes I continue my search if anything for the interesting and sometimes quirky new tastes I’m introduced to along the way. On this particular route, I decided to research just how Durban Curry came to be so highly regarded in South Africa.

It’s all thanks to the British and their penchant for colonizing land - you see, the British had promised Indian migrants a better life and all the riches in the world if they sailed to South Africa to work in the sugar cane and fruit plantations in the lush KwaZulu-Natal area of South Africa. So between 1860 and 1911 thousands of Indian people arrived by steamship to welcome a “better life”.

But alas, this was not to be. Promises were made but seldom kept. Life on the plantations was tough. The Indians had to contend not only with their British oppressors but also the tension from local Zulu tribes who didn’t have time for the British and their slave games let alone actual slaves. Many food items promised by the British never surfaced.

News somehow made its way home to Mother India and family members there started smuggling herbs, vegetable seeds, and spices to South Africa to try help their friends and family.

Members working in Durban also began traveling often to India and bringing back such items themselves.

The Indians began growing their own vegetables and herbs from the smuggled seeds. This was an easy feat as the seeds welcomed the warm sub-tropical climate with open arms.

Potato made its way into their meals as its a vegetable that can be used in many ways, it grows in ample amounts and provides sustenance. The question of meat was a luxury and could be sampled maybe once a week, if lucky.

Over time some of the Indian people began to set up shop, or even travel door-to-door and sell items such as spices, meat, and vegetables to fellow locals.

Many Indians, however, didn’t have the option to travel back home and so became stuck in a period of history all their own. As such their cooking developed a distinct style and taste - not unlike home but at the same time vastly different.

To this day the Durban Curry - whether you sample the beef, fish, or chicken dishes - remains number one on the list of Must-Try Local Foods.

If a full curry is too much for you then another quirk of the ages is the Bunny-Chow - a hearty serving of curry of your choice in a dug-out half or quarter loaf of bread, served with sambals.

My recommendation for the best Bunny Chow goes to a little betting shop around the Greyville Racecourse area called Hollywood Bets. Last place you’d expect a recommendation to come from, but hey, they’re legitimate!

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Hi @LeeBee-SA , and thank you for sharing your post.

It’s interesting to learn that curry can boost your immune system. I wasn’t aware of that. I must say that I’m quite surprised about the history behind it, as well. What caught my attention is the Bunny-Chow. Could share with us a photo? I was surprise to see that sometime is accompanied by bananas.

Hi @LeeBee-SA very interesting post again by you, having a lot knowledge about migration of Indian people and their spices. Your chicken Curry made me hungry it means you like too much. But next time or on our next meetup I will make for you best one. Because of this beautiful post.

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