Bunny Chow

Ingredients

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1½ teaspoons coriander seeds
• seeds from 6 cardamom pods
• 1 onion, grated
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, grated
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 10 curry leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• 400 g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm/1 inch chunks
• 2 carrots, halved lengthways and cut into 1 cm/½ inch chunks
• 1 x 400 g can kidney beans, drained
• 500 ml hot vegetable stock
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced into rings
• freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• crusty bread rolls, to serve
• oil, for brushing

Method

Put the cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and cardamom seeds in a large, dry frying pan over a medium-low heat and toast for 1–2 minutes, until they start to smell aromatic. Leave to cool, then grind in a grinder or using a pestle and mortar.

Put the rest of the ingredients up to and excluding the red onion into the slow cooker pot and stir until combined. Cover and cook for 5–6 hours on low or 4–5 hours on high.

Meanwhile, prepare the rolls. You can either serve the rolls as is or crisp them up in the oven before filling with the curry. Brush all over with oil and bake in an oven preheated to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 for 5 minutes, until crisp. Cut off the top of each roll to make a lid and scoop out the centre – you can save these to make breadcrumbs.

Toss the red onion in the juice of ½ lime and season with salt, then set aside.

When the curry is ready, add the rest of the lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the curry into the hollowed-out rolls and serve topped with a few red onions.