Bobotie is often considered the national dish of South Africa. It contains a truly wonderful fusion of flavours: curried minced beef with aromatic spices and dried fruit with a creamy egg topping.
One of my all-time favourite dishes, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Bobotie is often served with rice, but as it is quite a filling meal, I prefer to offset the denseness of the Bobotie with a light, fresh salad.
Ingredients
- 25 g butter
- 3 large onions, chopped
- 5 kg minced beef
- 6 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 4 cm fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 6 tsp Garam Masala
- 5 tsp turmeric
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 6 cloves
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp Herbes de Provence
- 200 g dried apricots, chopped
- 75 g flaked almonds
- 2 tbsp heaped of Moroccan spiced chutney (or similar)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180° C.
- Heat the butter in a large pan and, when melted, add the onions. After 5 minutes, add the garlic and cook until the onions are soft. Set aside.
- Fry the beef in a large pan with a glug of olive oil until dark brown.
- Add the onions and all of the other ingredients except the milk and eggs. Stir well and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves and mix again.
- Place the mixture into a large casserole dish and flatten the top with a large spoon or spatula.
- Mix the milk and eggs, add seasoning and pour over the meat mix.
- Bake in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes, until the topping has set and become golden brown.
- Serve with sambal and fresh salad.
If you like spicy food, try my Spiced Chicken Tagine recipe. If you would like to see another beef dish, take a look at the Veal Saltimboca post.
Enjoy!
