Bobotie – A South African Signature Dish with Yellow Rice

PREP TIME

15 minutes

COOK TIME

45 minutes

SERVES

8 people

Ingredients

1 fairly thick slice crustless bread (white or brown)
1 kg raw mince either beef or lamb or combination
375 ml milk
1 tab olive oil
2tsp butter
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbspns The Spice People Madras Curry Powder
1/2 tsp The Spice People Celery Salt Seasoning or salt of your choice
1 tsp The Spice People Mixed Herbs
3 The Spice People Dried Whole Bay Leaves
1/2 tsp The Spice People Turmeric
2 tbspns chutney
1 tbspn smooth apricot jam or 1/2 cup fresh fruit like apples or apricots diced/ grated finely
1 tbspn Worcester sauce
1 tbspn brown vinegar or lemon juice or tamarind water
1/4 cup sultanas/currants (don’t replace with raisins – they are too sweet; sultanas are much better for this recipe)
3 eggs – 1 egg for meat and – 2 eggs for custard
15 cashews or almonds or walnuts to garnish.

The love this recipe

This wonderful dish of spiced meat baked in the oven until its egg-custard top is golden and blistered is one of my favourite comfort dishes.

Bobotie is a traditional South African dish that’s prepared with beef or lamb, flavoured with warming spices and herbs and topped with an egg and milk topping then baked in the oven. Dating way back to its debut in a Dutch cookbook in 1609, Bobotie was created from the culinary traditions that were brought over from the Malayans and its name is derived from the Indonesian word ‘bobotok’, a traditional dish made with meat, spices and coconut milk.

Typically served alongside yellow rice studded with dried fruit, some sort of green vegetable and a sambal or chutney and nuts, this dish is still very prominent in South Africa today and a great represent of the wonderful spices used in South African cuisine.

In my version, I use sultanas rather than raisins as I feel raisins are a bit too sweet. I serve it alongside Turmeric-spiced yellow rice, green peas, a nice chutney and garnish with cashews and almonds. A true taste of Africa and truly one of the most comforting, delicious dinners!

Directions

Remove any crust and soak bread in a small amount of the milk – Mash and set aside.
Pre heat the oven to 180 deg C Heat oil and butter in large pan and fry onions and garlic, when the onions are soft , add the curry powder, vinegar, chutney and apricot jam or fruit. Next add the mince and sauté till the meat is no longer pink. Add the salt and taste to see if any further salt is needed. Then add the currants/sultanas and the bread and mix well. Take the meat off the heat and add 1 beaten egg to the mince.
Put the mince mixture into an oven dish approximately 30 by 20 cm deep dish. Place this dish in a larger tray with about 1 inch of water. Place the meat and water dish in the oven for 20 min.
In a separate bowl beat the remaining 2 eggs with the leftover milk and add the bay leaves and cashews or other nuts.
Remove the meat from the oven and pour over the custard mixture. Return to the oven for a further 30 min or until the custard is set- being careful to make sure there is still some water in the dish so the meat doesn’t dry out.
Serve with yellow colored rice – (add a 1/4 tsp of turmeric to the rice before cooking.)
When the rice is cooked add some frozen peas and serve with condiments like fruit chutney.