Bobotie

Ingredients

Meat base

• 1 kgminced beef, or half beef and half lamb
• 2 tbspvegetable oil or butter
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 4garlic cloves, minced
• 20 gginger, grated
• 2 tbspmild Cape curry powder
• 1 tspground turmeric
• 1 tspground cumin
• ½ tspground cloves
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper

Sweet-sour elements

• 2thick slices white bread
• 300 mlwhole milk, for soaking
• 3 tbspfruit chutney (Mrs Ball’s, ideally)
• 2 tbspapricot jam
• 3 tbspbrown grape or spirit vinegar
• 80 graisins or sultanas
• 50 gflaked almonds
• 1apple, peeled and grated (optional)

Custard topping

• 3eggs
• 300 mlwhole milk
• ½ tspsalt
• 1 pinchground turmeric

To finish

• 6fresh bay leaves, or 6 lemon leaves
• yellow rice with raisins, sliced banana, coconut and chutney, to serve

Directions

1. Soak the bread in the 300 ml of milk until sodden, then squeeze it out, reserving the milk, and crumble the bread.
2. Fry the onion in the oil over medium heat for 10 minutes until soft and sweet, then add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, turmeric, cumin and cloves and cook 2 minutes until the spices smell toasted and the pan is fragrant.
3. Raise the heat, add the mince and break it up thoroughly, cooking 8–10 minutes until it has lost all pinkness and started to catch in patches.
4. Stir in the chutney, apricot jam, vinegar, raisins, almonds, apple, squeezed bread, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust: bobotie should land squarely between sweet, sour and gently spiced, never fiery.
5. Simmer 10 minutes so the mixture holds together but stays moist, then pack it into a buttered 25 cm baking dish, pressing down into an even, level layer.
6. Whisk the eggs with the reserved soaking milk plus enough fresh milk to make 300 ml, the salt and the turmeric.
7. Pour the custard slowly over the back of a spoon so it sits on top rather than sinking, then stand the bay or lemon leaves upright in the surface like sails.
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35–40 minutes, until the custard is set with a faint wobble and blistered gold at the edges. Rest 10 minutes and serve with yellow rice, banana, coconut and more chutney.

Technique

• Bobotie is Cape Malay, developed by the enslaved Southeast Asian community at the Cape, and the sweet-sour-spice balance is the mark of that cooking. The name is usually traced to the Indonesian bobotok.
• Pressing the meat down flat matters: a loose, lumpy base lets the custard run through and you get scrambled egg instead of a clean golden lid.
• Bay leaves are the modern substitute for lemon leaves, which are the older Cape choice and give a brighter citrus perfume.

Substitutions

• No Mrs Ball’s chutney: use mango chutney with an extra teaspoon of vinegar to sharpen it.
• Lentil or soya mince versions are widely made in South Africa; keep the spicing and custard identical.
• White bread can be replaced by 60 g breadcrumbs soaked in the same amount of milk.

Variations

• Made with minced lamb, richer and more traditional in older Cape recipes.
• A fish bobotie, made in coastal Cape kitchens with flaked smoked snoek instead of mince.
• Individual bobotie baked in ramekins for a starter portion.

History

Cape Malay dish of curried mince under a savoury egg custard, developed by enslaved people brought from Southeast Asia; a similar Dutch recipe appears in a 1609 cookbook.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bobotie?

Bobotie is a main from South Africa: cape Malay curried beef bake with golden egg custard and chutney. Cape Malay dish of curried mince under a savoury egg custard, developed by enslaved people brought from Southeast Asia; a similar Dutch recipe appears in a 1609 cookbook.

How long does Bobotie take to make?

Bobotie takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Bobotie?

Yes, within limits. No Mrs Ball’s chutney: use mango chutney with an extra teaspoon of vinegar to sharpen it. Lentil or soya mince versions are widely made in South Africa; keep the spicing and custard identical. White bread can be replaced by 60 g breadcrumbs soaked in the same amount of milk.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bobotie?

Stir in the chutney, apricot jam, vinegar, raisins, almonds, apple, squeezed bread, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust: bobotie should land squarely between sweet, sour and gently spiced, never fiery.