Bobotie
Bobotie (pronounced ba-boor-tea) is the national dish of the rainbow nation South Africa. Influenced by Cape Malay cooking, it is a well loved comfort dish during the cooler winter month. There are many different versions out there but most of them will have the 6 key ingredients like curry spice, cinnamon, apricot jam, raisins, bread soaked in milk and bay leaves included. Bobotie consists of curried ground mince with an egg custard topping. Originally, beef mince was used but these days you can use lamb, game, ostrich, pork or chicken. Bobotie should be well balanced and not overly sweet, that is why I like to use my homemade apricot jam.
Ingredients
- 500 g beef mince
- 3 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled, minced
- 5 tsp curry powder (medium heat)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 3 Tbsp apricot jam
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar
- 50 g raisins
- 1 apple, grated (Granny Smith)
- 50 g almonds, roughly chopped
- 2 slices brown or white bread, soaked in 100 ml milk
- 1 Knorr beef or chicken stockpot
- Topping
- 125 ml milk
- 2 eggs
- 3 bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan.
- Add the onions and gently fry them for 5 minutes.
- Then incorporate the mince meat and garlic and fry until the mixture is crumbly and cooked through.
- Now add all the remaining ingredients except for the topping items.
- Mix well and cook for 5 minutes to help the flavours to blend in.
- Check the seasoning, adjust if necessary, and place the mixture into your greased baking dish.
- Smooth the top.
- Mix the milk and eggs and pour over the top of the mince meat mixture.
- Decorate with the bay leaves on top and bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve the bobotie with yellow rice, roasted butternut and fruit chutney.
I tried the recipe at home to show my neighbors a national dish from South Africa. Everyone was excited and they loved the taste. The recipe doesn’t need so much time for preparation and the outcome is delicious!
Wonderful, that you could bring a taste of South Africa home