Some people call Bobotie South African Moussaka, but I’m not convinced that gives the dish enough credit. My friend Janine says Bobotie is from the Cape Malay region and belies much more Indian influence.
At her most basic, Bobotie is a spiced meat casserole topped with egg custard and a few bay leaves. Inside, you’ll find everything from rich curry power, to garlic, ginger, lemon juice, raisins, and almonds. There’s even a scoop of chutney.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1 cast iron skillet or small casserole | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 40 minutes | 15 minutes |
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Some people call Bobotie South African Moussaka, but I’m not convinced that gives the dish enough credit. My friend Janine says Bobotie is from the Cape Malay region and belies much more Indian influence.
At her most basic, Bobotie is a spiced meat casserole topped with egg custard and a few bay leaves. Inside, you’ll find everything from rich curry power, to garlic, ginger, lemon juice, raisins, and almonds. There’s even a scoop of chutney.
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Ingredients
- 1 slice white bread
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 small onions , chopped
- 3 cloves garlic , crushed
- 1 tsp ginger root (grated)
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 Tbsp curry powder
- 1 lemon , juiced and zested
- 1/4 cup raisins , soaked in a little warm water
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1 spoonful mango chutney – OR –
- apricot jam
- salt
- pepper
For the topping:
- milk , for soaking the bread
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- salt
- pepper
- bay leaves (fresh, if possible)
Servings: cast iron skillet or small casserole
Units:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Soak the bread in milk. Set it aside. Meanwhile, fry onion, ginger and garlic in butter until softened and beginning to brown.
- You can just keep adding ingredients to the pan, frying and cooking and stirring until it’s a happy mess…or do what I did, and treat it like meatloaf. It’s a little unconventional (a.k.a. not traditional), but I tried it both ways and found the flavors got into the meat better with this method (and it makes the almonds a bit softer). It’s really easy: In a large bowl, mix beef, curry, lemon juice, zest, raisins, almonds, chutney, salt, pepper, and the soaked bread (squeeze it dry first and be sure to reserve the milk). You can add in the cooled onion mixture, too. Combine well.
- Now fry it up in a hot pan, using more butter as needed. Give it a taste and adjust seasonings. I added a little extra chutney… just because.
- Once you’re happy with the flavor, prepare the custard. Simply whisk the eggs into the reserved milk with a bit of turmeric, salt,and pepper. Pour over the meat mixture.
- Dot with bay leaves and bake about 20 minutes, or until the egg is set. Let cool for about 15 minutes, then slice and serve with yellow rice.