Here is a delicious bobotie recipe from South Africa, which is a traditional ground beef dish originating in Malaysia. Now you can make your own from scratch. Enjoy!

A traditional Cape-Malay recipe from South Africa.

Course: Main
Cuisine: South African

Ingredients

• 1 lbs cooked Ground Beef
• 1 big Onion
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 slice bread soaked in milk
• 1 tbsp Curry (paste or powder – I use paste)
• ½ cup Coconut (not sweet or almonds)
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tbsp Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Apricot jam or 1 dessert spoon honey
• 3 cups Milk
• 3 Eggs

Instructions

1. Cook the ground beef with onion in oil or butter.
2. Add a little salt and pepper and one tablespoon tomato paste for flavor to the ground beef.
   Also add a little parsley.
3. In a different pan, fry the onions in butter and add curry – allow to become darker.
4. Beat the eggs and milk together.
5. Add lemon juice into curry mixture, then apricot jam, coconut, bread & vinegar.
6. Add ground beef and one third of milk & egg mixture.
7. Bake for ten minutes in pyrex dish uncovered at 325 °F.
8. Then pour over the balance of milk & egg mixture and leave in oven until brown.

This classic dish from South Africa, Bobotie (pronounced ba-bo-tea), is made with ground beef seasoned to perfection and a creamy, decadent topping. It is rich, savory, spicy, aromatic, and zingy. A comforting meal, full of the flavors of Africa!

Servings: 4 to 6
Category: Entree
Cuisine: South Africa

Ingredients

• 3 slices of bread
• 1 cup + 1/2 cup milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped
• 4 teaspoons medium curry powder
• 1 teaspoon dried herbs (whatever you’ve got around – oregano, basil, marjoram, etc.)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup fruit chutney
• 1 tablespoon apricot jam
• Zest and juice of one medium lemon, divided
• 4 teaspoons tomato paste
• Salt and pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 4 bay leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Soak the bread in 1 cup of milk.
3. Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet set over medium heat.
4. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, and cook until soft.
5. Add the curry powder, mixed herbs, ground cumin, turmeric, and garlic, and stirring constantly, allow to cook for a minute or two until the garlic is soft.
6. Add the ground beef, and cook, stirring frequently to break up any big chunks, until browned.
7. Once the beef is browned, remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in the chutney, apricot jam, all the lemon zest, half the lemon juice, tomato paste, and salt and pepper to taste.
8. Mix well, give it a taste, and add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper as desired.
   It should be delightfully zingy!
9. Squeeze the milk from the bread, reserving the milk for later, and smooshing and tearing the bread into small pieces.
10. Mix the bread into the beef mixture, and spread evenly into an oven-proof dish.
11. Strain the milk that has come from the bread, and add the remaining 1/2 cup of milk.
12. Beat in the eggs, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste.
13. Pour this over the meat, and decoratively scatter the bay leaves on top.
14. Bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

This Bobotie recipe is a simple variation of the more traditional one where one uses a variety of spices. We are not a spice-loving family, so we prefer this simple version. Traditionally, this Bobotie dish is served with yellow rice and raisins, but once again, we love our normal brown rice better. And some people serve it with slices of banana. It cleans the palette after the curry taste, they say.

Ingredients
500g minced meat
1 thick slice of bread
250ml milk
1 onion(chopped)
37.5ml lemon juice
10ml oil
10ml curry powder
5ml salt
5ml sugar
Pinch of pepper
2 eggs
12.5ml apricot jam/jelly or chutney

Method
Soak the bread in the milk
Brown the onion in the oil in a pan
Add the meat
Mix the lemon juice, sugar, salt, pepper and curry powder together
Add mixture to the meat
Add the bread and 150ml of the milk to the meat and press with a fork to make a fine mixture

Add one egg and the jam/jelly/chutney
Pour into an oven dish
Bake for 10 minutes at 180’C
Whisk the remaining egg and milk together
Take out the dish from the oven and pour the egg mixture on top
Bake for another 30 minutes or until firm
Garnish with lemon leaves if desired
Serve with (yellow) rice and enjoy!