Bobotie is a a South African dish which is normally served in an Afrikaans household. Like many dishes, each family has their own recipes.

This recipe is adapted from one that was posted in a South African travel site and is very different from the one that I’ve made before from the Cape Malay cookbook that I have.

My South African husband likes this version more than what I’ve previously made before and so do I. This is much lighter, perhaps because I used brioche instead of the regular bread or mashed potatoes.

Bobotie is usually served with white rice and chutney.

Ingredients: serves 4-6

4 slices bread, ends trimmed off

200 ml milk

600g mince, beef

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 eggs

2 bay leaves

3/4 teaspoon salt

Seasoning:

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon chutney

1 teaspoon smooth jam

1 teaspoon Worcheshire sauce

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon vinegar (apple cider, optional)

Method:

• Soak the bread in the milk.
• Place ingredients of seasoning into a bowl and mix well.
• Stir fry the onion & garlic with some oil.
• Add the mince when the onion has turned clear. Fry till the mince is cooked.
• Add the seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Transfer the cooked mince into a bowl. Leave to cool before handling.
• Squeeze the milk from the bread. Add the bread to the mince, reserving the balance milk.
• Add one egg (shell removed) to the mince. Mix the bread & egg into the meat mixture.
• Grease an ovenproof dish. Place the mince mix into the dish.
• Crack the other egg into the reserved milk, beat well.
• Place the bay leaves on top of the mince, pour the milk/egg mixture over the mince.
• Bake in preheated oven of 180ºC (350ºF) for an hour.
• Serve with white riced and chutney.