Bobotie

Story

The oldest recorded recipe for bobotie appeared in a Dutch cookbook in 1609, but the dish as South Africans know it was shaped by the Cape Malay community, enslaved people brought from Java and the Indonesian archipelago to the Cape Colony from 1658 onwards by the Dutch East India Company. The name most likely derives from the Javanese dish bobotok, a steamed parcel of spiced coconut, meat, and vegetables, with the word itself probably rooted in the Malay boemboe, meaning curry spices. Cape Malay cooks transformed the recipe over generations, adding their characteristic sweet-savoury balance of apricot, raisin, and warm curry, and topping it with a baked egg custard that is now the dish's defining signature. Today bobotie is recognised as South Africa's national dish and remains one of the oldest continuously practiced food traditions on the continent.

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef or lamb mince
• 2 thick slices stale white bread, crusts removed
• 250 ml full-fat milk, plus extra for the custard
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoons mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam
• 2 tablespoons mango or peach chutney
• 75 g seedless raisins
• 75 g dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 30 g flaked almonds
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon malt vinegar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 6 fresh lemon leaves or 4 bay leaves

Method

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Tear the bread into rough pieces, place in a bowl and pour over 125 ml of the milk. Leave to soak for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the milk firmly and reserve it. Set the bread and the reserved milk aside separately.
• 2. Heat the oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes until completely soft and golden. Do not rush this step.
• 3. Add the garlic and ginger, cook for 2 minutes. Add the curry powder, turmeric, coriander, and cumin and cook for 1 full minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
• 4. Add the mince and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until no pink remains, about 8 minutes. Drain off any excess fat.
• 5. Remove from the heat and stir in the apricot jam, chutney, raisins, dried apricots, almonds, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, tomato paste, lemon juice, and the squeezed bread pieces, breaking them into the mixture. Season well with salt and pepper. Taste: the filling should be warmly spiced, slightly sweet, and deeply savoury.
• 6. Beat one egg and stir it through the meat mixture. Transfer the filling to a greased baking dish approximately 30 x 20 cm. Press down with the back of a spoon to form a compact, level layer.
• 7. Make the custard by whisking the remaining 2 eggs with the reserved bread-soaking milk plus enough fresh milk to reach 300 ml total. Season with a pinch of salt and a pinch of turmeric. Pour evenly over the meat.
• 8. Press the lemon leaves or bay leaves gently into the surface of the custard so they are partly submerged. Place the dish in the oven.
• 9. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the custard is fully set, golden on top, and no longer wobbles when you shake the dish gently. Rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
• 10. Serve with turmeric yellow rice and a fresh tomato and onion salad. Mrs Ball's chutney on the side is traditional.

Common questions