Bobotie

Bobotie is a classic dish from South African cuisine with roots in the Cape Malay tradition. The dish is characterised by savoury minced meat, warm spices and a subtle sweetness from chutney and raisins, finished with a soft egg layer from the oven.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 kg minced beef or lamb
• 2 slices of white bread
• 250 ml whole milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 tablespoons apricot chutney
• 2 tablespoons masala curry
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 70 grams tomato purée
• 75 grams sultanas
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• Unsalted butter for frying
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Soak the bread in the milk. Squeeze out the bread and keep the milk.
• Peel the onion and finely chop it. Peel the garlic and finely chop it.
• Wash the mint leaves and finely chop them.
• Soak the sultanas in lukewarm water.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Heat a large pan with unsalted butter and gently fry the mince with the onion, stirring to break it up, until the mince loses its raw colour.
3. Push the mince to one side of the pan. Add the tomato purée to the empty side and fry for about 1 minute to reduce acidity. Then mix everything together well.
4. Add the garlic, masala curry, turmeric, apricot chutney, mint, oregano, pepper and salt. Mix carefully.
5. Drain the raisins and stir them through the mince mixture.
6. Spoon the mince into a greased oven dish and press down evenly.
7. Beat the eggs with the reserved milk and season with pepper and salt.
8. Pour the egg mixture over the mince and place the bay leaves on top.
9. Bake the bobotie in the oven for about 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and just set.