Easy Bobotie Recipe - A Traditional South African Casserole

An epicurean adventure to: South Africa

This easy bobotie recipe is a delicious traditional South African dish. In fact, it's often considered the national dish of South Africa!

What is bobotie?

South African Bobotie is a flavour-packed, aromatic curried mince bake that is both sweet and spicy. Typically it consists of spiced minced meat (usually beef or lamb) mixed with dried fruit (such as raisins or apricots), chutney and curry powder. Finally, it's finished off with a savoury egg topping and baked until golden brown with notorious crispy sides.

Just ask Oprah, it's so good she even served it for her Thanksgiving dinner! Bobotie simply *must* be served with yellow basmati rice, a spicy yellow rice made with turmeric, cardamom and raisins. They never go without each other, like bacon and eggs or ham and cheese.

For more traditional South African recipes, try this peppermint crisp tart, rock shandy and these award-winning condensed milk cookies.

South Africa - Fast facts

Location	Southernmost tip of the African continent. It is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Lesotho.
Language	South Africa has 11 official languages: English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, Pedi, Venda, Tsonga, Swati and Ndebele. English is widely spoken and is the language of business, while Zulu and Xhosa are the most commonly spoken African languages.
Population	Circa 60.2 million
Trivia	South Africa voluntarily gave up its nuclear weapons program after the end of apartheid in the 1990s and now plays a leading role in global nuclear non-proliferation efforts.

What does Bobotie taste like?

This delicious dish is aromatic, zingy, flavourful and mildly spicy with a hint of sweetness. The smell of the complex aromas during cooking is out of this world.

The origin of Bobotie

Bobotie's roots are unclear and there are many theories. Some say it came to the Cape of Good Hope from Indonesia, Malaysia or the Netherlands (via the Dutch East India Company). Regardless of where it came from, the traditional bobotie recipes are different from what we know today.

South Africans adapted the recipe from Cape Town's Cape Malay community, circa 17th century. It was vastly modified as it spread throughout the country. Many South African families tend to have their own, well-guarded versions of bobotie that get passed down the line to the younger generations.

The Rainbow Nation is known for its diverse cultures and this is reflected in the South African cuisine. People combine different culinary traditions to create something new, vibrant and popular with everyone.

Bobotie is a prime example of this culinary philosophy, which is why it's often considered South Africa's national dish.

Key ingredient notes and substitutions

Bread

A few thick slices of bread play a key role in binding the beef mixture together. You can use either brown or white bread. It doesn't matter whether it's stale or fresh, so it's a great way to use up that last bit of dry bread in the bread bin.

Milk

We use milk to make the savoury egg custard that tops the bobotie. You can use either semi-skimmed or full-cream milk.

Curry powder

We use a mild curry powder, but you can definitely swap this for a hot curry powder if that's more to your taste. Just ensure all your guests are ok with hot spice.

Fruit chutney

Peach chutney is traditional but this might not be available wherever you are on the globe, so any fruity chutney, like apricot chutney, will work.

We don't have either in the UK, so we use mango chutney. It's a great alternative.

Remember, the best bobotie recipes will never leave out the chutney, it's the traditional way.

Update: To the South African expats in the UK, they sell Mrs Ball's peach chutney at Sainsbury's now, which is fantastic news!

Ground beef

Minced beef, or ground beef, is the main component of a bobotie. We use a medium-fat mince, but you can also use lean or extra lean. Ground lamb is also a popular choice.

Bay leaf

Bay leaves are a very traditional addition to bobotie and simply cannot be left out. It's also part of the familiar 'look' of a bobotie, carefully placed on top of the savoury custard to form a neat pattern.

If you absolutely can't get bay leaves, you can also use lemon leaves.

Other flavourings

Worcestershire sauce, apricot jam, a teaspoon of ground turmeric, vinegar, salt and freshly ground black pepper are also important components of a bobotie.

You can omit the Worcestershire sauce if you don't have any to hand. You can also add a squeeze or two of lemon juice, a bit of lemon zest or a tablespoon of tomato paste, but this is optional.

How to make bobotie: Step-by-step

Prepare the bread

1. Roughly tear the crustless bread into pieces, place it in a bowl and cover with the milk. Leave this to soak while you get on with the rest of the Bobotie.

Prepare the curried mince

2. Switch the oven on to preheat at 180C/356F (160C fan/320F fan).

3. Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan, or frying pan and add the chopped onions and garlic.

4. Gently fry over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.

5. At this point, add the curry powder, chutney, apricot jam, Worcester sauce, turmeric and red wine vinegar to the onion mixture and stir together.

6. Gently fry over low heat whilst stirring for 1-2 minutes until everything is heated through.

7. Revisit the bread that's now been soaking in the milk for a few minutes. Drain the bread from the milk and mash it with a fork.
   
   Retain the remaining milk mixture because you will use this for your savoury egg custard topping.

8. Add the mince together with the milk-soaked bread and sultanas to your spicy onion mix in the pan. Also, add the salt and crumble the beef stock cube into the pan.

9. Give it a good mix and gently fry, whilst stirring, until the mince has lost its pinkness.
   
   Tip: A wooden spoon works great for breaking up the mince.

10. Lightly beat one egg.

11. Remove the Bobotie mixture from the heat and stir in the lightly beaten egg.

12. Spoon the meat mixture into a greased oven dish (casserole dish) of about 30cm x 20cm and smooth the top.

Prepare the savoury custard topping

13. Break the two remaining eggs into the leftover milk together with a pinch of salt and a pinch of turmeric. 

14. Whisk well until the yolks are broken up and well mixed in. 

15. Gently pour the egg mixture over the top of the meat.

16. Place the bay leaves on top. Try to space them out equally in a pattern of your choice.

17. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour. The cooking time is a good guide, but ensure you have a bit of a crispy edge on the sides, as that's the best bit of a well-baked Bobotie! An extra few minutes in the oven to crisp up the sides is not a problem.

About the baking dish

You will need an oven-safe baking dish of circa 20cm x 30cm.

Visual clues to know when the bobotie is done baking

Bake the bobotie between 50 minutes to 1 hour in a moderate oven. However, it’s imperative to keep an eye on it and ensure you get a nice, golden brown edge along the outside of the dish.

This really is the best bit. Families have been known to squabble over the crispy, almost-burnt side scoops! 

Storage

The bobotie will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container. Reheat in the oven at 180C/356F/gas mark 4 for about 20 minutes or until heated through. You can also heat the Bobotie in the microwave.

It freezes really well and can be frozen for up to 3 months. To defrost, remove from the freezer the day before and allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the oven at 180C/356F/gas mark 4 for about 20 minutes or until heated through. You can also heat the Bobotie in the microwave.

What can you serve Bobotie with

• Basmati yellow rice - This is compulsory. Really. Everything listed below is additional to the yellow rice.

• Sliced banana on top.

• Desiccated coconut or flaked almonds sprinkled on top.

• More chutney.

• Potato salad.

• Baked sweet potato.

• Jerusalem salad.

• Crispy green salad.

• Pickled beetroot.

• Carrot salad.

• Green beans with onion.

More recipes from South Africa

Pikkie's Melkkos

Curry noodle salad

Yellow rice for bobotie

Peppermint Crisp tart

Rock shandy

Trinchado

Prego steak rolls

Vetkoek

Curried mince for vetkoek