Bobotie – hearty and comforting South African dish made primarily of curried minced meat topped with milk and egg mixture and baked to perfection. Easy, tasty dish with punchy yet on point flavors!
Let me make a shout out to one of our Facebook readers for suggesting this fabulous dish that the whole family will enjoy. It’s been on my list since last year’s holiday and finally, it’s officially on the blog now. Woohoo!
What is bobotie?
As cute as the name sounds, this dish here isn’t pure cutesy cute at all; it’s a big-time dish and is often considered to be South Africa’s national dish.
Bobotie, pronounced as BA-BOOR-TEA, appears to be a dish accounted way back to ancient Roman times (yep, imagine those thigh-high Roman sandals). It was basically layers of cooked meat with pine nuts seasoned with pepper, celery seeds, and asafoetida (a herb similar to that of leeks), then added with a top layer of egg and milk mixture.
Today, Bobotie recipes have been simplified by using curry powder and usually call for chopped onions and almonds. Traditionally, bobotie is added with dried fruits like raisins or sultanas and often garnished with walnuts, chutney, and bananas.
This dish is jam-packed with complex flavors and textures that are guaranteed to excite and satisfy your palate. Yellow rice is often quite the perfect company for this baked dish.
Bobotie is somehow associated with Meatloaf due to its similar cooking method. It starts off by sauteing the minced meat along with the spices and veggies, then finishes off in the oven.
The sauteed savory minced meat complements the custardy milky toppings well. Although not too spicy, this version of bobotie here has some kick to it. Instead of adding dried fruits, I use my mango chutney to add a hint of sweetness and a kick into it.
What is bobotie traditionally served with?
Bobotie is traditionally served with yellow rice, some would add slices of banana on the side, chutney, or some pickle. Some also serve roasted butternut squash, toasted coconut, and peas.
I had mine with some slices of carrots on the side and Yellow Rice. But no matter what you serve it with, the star of this meal will always be bobotie. You can even eat it on its own! It’s sooo damn good that you’ll forget the rest.
Make sure you have someone with you when eating this bobotie dish. Or you’ll regret eating the whole pan. Blame it on all it’s marvelous flavors! You can also serve this, too, on special occasions and holidays.
Enjoy!
How to Make a Bobotie
Pre-heat oven at 350 deg F/180 deg Celsius. In a medium bowl, mix together milk and bread to soften it. Set aside. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish, or a cast iron.
Heat up a large saucepan or large skillet over medium heat,then add butter until melted, followed by onions and garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes just until soft and fragrant. Next stir in the spices: curry powder, turmeric, ground cumin, coriander and dried herbs
Add ground beef and herbs stirring constantly to break it up, cook until beef is no longer pink or slightly brown. Remove from the stove.
Add to a bowl, followed by bread mixture ,chutney, grated apple, lemon juice and zest, and Worcestershire – add raisins here, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add beef mixture into greased casserole dish or cast iron pan. I used a 10 inch pan. Using a spoon, press the beef mixture down. This helps keep the eggs mixture afloat and forms a nice custardy top when baked. Bake in the oven for around 40-50 minutes.
While bobotie is baking, mix together eggs, cream , milk and a ¼ teaspoon of turmeric. Take the meat out of the oven, pour the eggs mixture over the beef.
Arrange the bay leaves on top of it. Bake for another 20 minutes (start checking after 15 minutes ) or until the eggs mixture has set. Remove and let it rest for a few minutes then serve with yellow rice and vegetables.
Watch How To Make It
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Bobotie
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 medium onions , finely diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
- 2 bread slices
- ½ cup milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 1/2 tablespoon dried herbs (thyme, basil, oregano, )
- 1 large apple , grated
- ⅓ -½ cup fruit chutney
- 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
- ½ -1 lemon juice and zest
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Savory egg Custard topping
- 3 eggs
- 5-6 bay leaves
- ½ cup cream
- ½ cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven at 350 deg F/180 deg Celsius.
- In a medium bowl, mix together milk and bread to soften it. Set aside.
- Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish, or a cast iron.
- Heat up a large saucepan or large skillet over medium heat,then add butter until melted, followed by onions and garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes just until soft and fragrant.
- Next stir in the spices: curry powder, turmeric, ground cumin, coriander and dried herbs.
- Add ground beef and herbs stirring constantly to break it up, cook until beef is no longer pink or slightly brown. Remove from the stove.
- Add to a bowl, followed by bread mixture, chutney, grated apple, lemon juice and zest, and Worcestershire – add raisins here, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add beef mixture into greased casserole dish or cast iron pan. I used a 10 inch pan. Using a spoon press the beef mixture down. This helps keep the eggs mixture afloat and forms a nice custardy top when baked,
- Bake in the oven for around 40-50 minutes.
- While bobotie is baking, mix together eggs, cream , milk and a ¼ teaspoon of turmeric .
- Take the meat out of the oven, pour the eggs mixture over the beef. Arrange the bay leaves on top of it .
- Bake for another 20 minutes (start checking after 15 minutes ) or until the eggs mixture has set.
- Remove and let it rest for a few minutes then serve with yellow rice and vegetables.
Tips & Notes:
- You can make the minced curry ahead of time. Let it cool down first before transferring to an airtight container and into the fridge.
- Aside from yellow rice, you can serve this bobotie with crusty bread or chapatis.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Lucy says
WOW! This is absolutely delicious and was enjoyed by all. As recommended I served it with African yellow rice and some steamed vegetables. I will make this again for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Amina says
Yayy! Wonderfull, Thank you so much for your love.
Megan Black says
Made this last night for a small international-themed NYE dinner party — it was the hit of the party. We also made your Malva Pudding recipe and I couldn’t stop eating it. So good! We didn’t need many modifications, except I was pretty heavy handed with the orange zest in the Malva Pudding and the mango chutney and Worcestershire sauce in the Bobotie and those were all good choices 🙂
Jane Harkins says
I found this in your collection of recipes for ground pork, not for ground beef. Which do you like better?
ImmaculateBites says
I like it with Beef. 🙂
Makgotso Seziba says
I love this recipe and my family enjoy it
ImmaculateBites says
Nice! Happy to know that! 🙂
Eunice says
This is such an easy recipe and really tasty. I replaced the cream with milk and it also taste great!
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you for sharing, Eunice! 🙂
Robin and Bob Young says
Loved this recipe and so did the family. Boisefoodiegiild
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you, Robin and Bob!
Sue Matheson says
Lived in SA for 50yrs so loved this recipe. Think next time I’ll let the custard seep through the mince though. Thanks for a taste of my home.
Nancy says
I am planted based.my boyfriend is not. I am an adventurous eater and he is not. I substituted the beef for a mushroom/ walnut blend And cream/ milk with coconut cream and milk. We both LOVED it. NO LEFTOVeRS! Decadent,creamy, but with the right kick to keep us coming back For more!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for the feedback.
James Mansion says
I liked this, having been introduced to Bobotie by my mother. But hers is more like an indian keema with egg added, and this was very light and fluffy somehow – perhaps from the defrosted frozen mince I used, or the apple, or the bread. And I was generous with a hot curry powder, but it was still mild. I used mango sauce, some fruit chutney, raisins, and a dozen quartered dried apricots. Its very nice, but I will try for hotter next time.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for the feedback. Glad hear it worked out well for you.
Nell says
Wat een heerlijk recept!
ImmaculateBites says
Thank you!
Farah Jones says
This recipe is fantastic. My husband who’s a South African who grew up having babotie thought this dish was absolutely delicious, thanks to this recipe. I will be making it regularly.
Imma Adamu says
Thank you so much, Farah!
Jason says
This is one of my favourite dishes, and with an Afrikaans (South African) wife, I am spoilt. The origins of Bobotie are in fact Cape Malayan, and not Roman, from settlers/slaves whom were brought to the Cape Town, several hundreds of years ago. It’s traditional eaten with yellow rice, and definitely with Chutney (Mrs Ball is the prefered brand). We eat it hot or cold, both are amazing. Enjoy…
Mary says
When you say you can make the meat curry, cool, then save in fridge, is that before and after adding the chutney, bread, raisins, apple?
Mary says
I meant before OR after adding chutney…
Lynn says
When you say you can make the meat curry, cool, then save in fridge, is that before and after adding the chutney, bread, raisins, apple?
ImmaculateBites says
It works both ways before or after .
Monty says
Fabulous. Everyone had seconds. I will make it again! Maybe with half beer and half lamb. I researched several recipes online and picked this one; however, I was timid about the amount of curry powder and dried herbs, so I cut them in half. My dish was definitely not too spicy. I will add more next time. I also added 1/4 cup of toasted sliced almonds.
BTW, the instructions say to add 1/4 tsp of turmeric to custard mixture, (which i did) but that ingredient is not listed under “Savory Egg Custard Topping”
Imma Adamu says
Oh wow, thank you!
Samantha says
Made this tonight, was amazingly delicious. My mince was a little bit more saucy but thr flavors are divine.
ImmaculateBites says
Glad to hear it worked out well.