Given the basic structure of this popular township street food– a quarter loaf (kota) of
bread hollowed out and filled again – it’s easy to see why many people liken it to another
local treat, the bunny chow. However, its contents are what distinguishes the kota from its
Durban cousin: the soft loaf is crammed with a combination of, among other ingredients,
atchar, polony, slap chips, cheese, egg and Russian sausage. To those who’ve grown up in the
townships of South Africa, where the spazas sell popular street food unique to this
socio-economic and geographic area, a kota is a kota – and like nothing else.