Bobotie: South Africa’s spiced baked mince

Bobotie is a Cape Malay-influenced classic: curried minced meat with a hint of sweetness, topped with a savoury egg custard and baked until set.

Ingredients

• 500 g minced beef or lamb
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 slices white bread soaked in 125 ml milk
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp apricot jam
• 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
• a handful of raisins and flaked almonds
• bay leaves

• Topping: 2 eggs
• 250 ml milk
• salt

Method

Fry the onion until soft, add the garlic and spices, then the mince, and cook until browned. Squeeze the milk from the bread (keep the milk), mash the bread and stir it in with the jam, vinegar, raisins and almonds. Season, press into a baking dish and tuck in the bay leaves.

Beat the eggs with the reserved milk and a little salt, pour over the mince and bake at 180°C for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is set and golden.

Serving

Serve with yellow rice, sliced banana, desiccated coconut and chutney. Leftovers keep for two days in the fridge and reheat well.

Always follow safe food handling and cook meat thoroughly. Check ingredients for allergens.