TGIFOOD
Lockdown Recipe of the Day: Bobotie
The story of bobotie is a metaphor for our South African heritage. It’s a mixture of unrelated ingredients tied together by one highly adaptable ingredient. Beef, bread, raisins, lemon leaf, spices, herbs and egg. Malay, Indonesian, European and African, all baked together to produce a distinctly South African flavour that’s sweet, spicy and just plain lekker.
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Ingredients
1 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1kg coarsely ground beef mince
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 tsp Rajah Medium Curry Powder
1 tsp turmeric, ground
2 tsp cumin, ground
2 tsp coriander, ground
2 whole cloves
1/2 cup raisins or sultanas
1/2 cup chutney (preferably Mrs Balls)
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
4 lemon leaves
2 cups full cream milk
6 large eggs
Method
Sauté the onion in the butter until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, meat and spices and fry until fragrant and cooked through. Add the raisins/sultanas, chutney and parsley and mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the mince mixture to an ovenproof dish and press down slightly with the back of a spoon. Neatly place lemon leaves into the mince mixture.
Whisk together milk and eggs and gently pour over the dish. Bake in the oven at 180 for about half an hour, until the egg mixture is set and golden brown.
Serve on yellow rice with more chutney, desiccated coconut and sliced banana. DM
Louzel Lombard Steyn writes definitive stories about traditional South African dishes, packed with the history and lore of the dish. Read more of her stories on our Thank God It’s Food platform.
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