Best South African Bobotie Recipes

SOUTH AFRICAN SHEPHERD'S PIE (BOBOTIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place bread in a bowl and cover with milk. Let sit until ready to use, turning if necessary to make sure the entire piece of bread is soaked.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and then the onions, chilies, and ginger with a bit of salt to draw out the moisture. Saute for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add in the garlic and spices and saute for another 30 seconds to a minute, until the garlic is fragrant. (If necessary, add a bit of water to slow the cooking down.)
• Increase the heat to medium-high and push the vegetables aside a bit. Combine the different ground meats if necessary and add the ground meat and brown for 3 to 4 minutes. You can add a drizzle of canola oil if your pan is looking very dry. You want to develop color and deepen the flavor of the ground meat. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, break up the meat with the onions and spices to mix. Add the preserves, malt vinegar, and tomato and season with salt. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes for all of the flavors to meld. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Transfer mixture to a bowl using a slotted spoon and let cool briefly. Wring out excess milk from the bread and add to the meat mixture. Mix thoroughly, breaking up the bread, and season if necessary. Fill 4 (10-ounce) ramekins 3/4 full with meat mixture and place ramekins in a roasting pan or baking dish.
• Combine eggs, heavy cream, and pinch of salt and pour to fill ramekins to the top.
• You want to bake these in a water bath, so fill the roasting pan or baking dish with boiling water until it comes at least halfway up the sides of the ramekins (see Cook's Notes).
• Cook at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until the custard is set. You want the custard to be supple, so don't overcook or it turns into an omelet topping. If it jiggles a bit in the center, that's fine. Just let it sit in the water bath once you've taken it out of the oven to firm up a bit.
• Let cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve in the ramekins topped with chopped chives.

BOBOTIE (SOUTH AFRICAN MEATLOAF)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a large baking dish.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion in melted butter until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Combine 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, oats, raisins, almonds, vinegar, curry powder, sugar, salt, turmeric, and black pepper in a large bowl. Add onions and ground beef; mix well. Spread the beef evenly into the prepared baking dish; top with bay leaves.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and drain excess fat from the beef.
• Beat 1 egg and 1/4 cup milk together in a bowl; pour over the beef mixture.
• Continue baking in oven until the top is beginning to brown, about 30 minute more. Remove and discard bay leaves to serve.

SOUTH AFRICAN BOBOTIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and saute until browned, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef to onion and saute until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Soak bread in 1/4 cup milk in a small bowl, mash, and add to ground beef mixture; stir in 1/2 of beaten egg, raisins, vinegar, sugar, turmeric, salt, curry powder, and ground black pepper.
• Transfer beef mixture to glass baking dish; insert bay leaves.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Whisk remaining 1/2 egg and remaining 1/4 cup milk together in a small bowl; pour over meat mixture and return to oven for 30 minutes.
• Serve with chutney.

SOUTH AFRICAN BOBOTIE

Steps:

• Pre heat oven to 160°C.
• Soak bread in water for around 10 minutes, remove and squeeze excess water and tear into small pieces.
• Add 2 eggs to a large bowl and whisk. Add mince and mix to combine. Set aside.
• In a large frying pan, heat oil and fry onion until golden in colour.
• Add onion mixture to mince along with crumbled bread, hot water, sugar, lemon juice, curry powder, cloves, garlic, turmeric and salt. Mix to combine all ingredients.
• Spoon mixture into a greased, oven proof dish and cook in oven uncovered for 40 minutes, remove from oven.
• Combine topping ingredients and pour over bobotie. Place back in oven and cook for another 10 minutes. Or until topping is set.

BOBOTIE (SOUTH AFRICAN CURRY MEAT LOAF)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Combine tea, raisins, and apricots in a bowl; let sit for 30 minutes. Drain, and reserve 1/3 cup soaking liquid; set both aside.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion; cook until lightly caramelized, about 8 minutes. Add turmeric, coriander, cayenne, cumin, fenugreek, pepper, fennel, and salt; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add reserved soaked fruit and soaking liquid and vinegar; cook until almost all liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl; add beef, and mix until evenly combined. Transfer meat mixture to a foil-lined baking sheet, and shape into an 8″ × 4″ loaf; press almonds over top of meat loaf, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat loaf reads 160F, about 40 minutes.

BOBOTIE (SOUTH AFRICAN CURRIED MEAT CASSEROLE)

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add the onions and sauté until translucent and just starting to brown. Add the ground beef and break it up while sautéing until cooked through and crumbly. Remove from heat, drain of any excess fat and place in a large bowl.
• Put the bread and milk in a bowl and soak for 5-10 minutes. Remove the bread and squeeze it dry, leaving squeezed milk back in the bowl and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325°F Add the soaked bread, vinegar or lemon juice, raisins, sugar, curry powder, turmeric, salt and pepper to the bowl with the cooked meat and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings. The meat should have a pleasantly sweet-sour flavor.
• Pour the meat mixture into a greased casserole dish and smooth out the top. Lay the bay leaves over the meat in a decorative pattern and press down lightly to make them stick. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
• Beat the eggs with the reserved bread-soaking milk. After the meat has baked for 30 minutes, pour the egg-milk mixture over the top of the meat and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the custard is set and lightly browned.
• Remove from the oven and serve hot with Recipe #456514 and mango chutney.
• VARIATIONS:.
• Add a couple tablespoons of mango chutney or apricot preserves to the meat if you like. A grated apple is also sometimes added.
• Stir a handful of toasted, slivered almonds into the meat mixture before cooking, or garnish the finished dish with toasted almonds.
• One or two beaten eggs can also be stirred into the meat mixture if you like.
• Substitute lemon leaves for the bay leaves if you can find them.
• Use ground lamb in place of the beef.

SOUTH AFRICAN BOBOTIE

Steps:

• Preheat the over to 350°F.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onions and garlic until soft.
• Add the meat and cook until brown, drain if necessary.
• Add the curry, salt, apricot jelly, chutney, Worcestershire sauce, turmeric and vinegar. Mix well.
• Add the lentils, sultanas and oat bran, mix, and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat.
• Add one egg to meat, mix well and spoon into a greased over-proof dish. Smooth the tops so it is level.
• Add the other egg, a pinch of turmeric and a pinch of salt to the milk. Mix, and then pour that over the top of the meat.
• Place 3 or 4 bay leaves on top and bake uncovered for about 60 minutes.
• Serve over rice.

BOBOTIE - SOUTH AFRICAN CAPE MALAY CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Soak the bread in the cup of milk, set aside.
• In a large, non-stick skillet, brown the ground beef.
• Add the onions, garlic, curry powder and turmeric and cook until the onions are soft.
• Add sugar, vinegar, raisins, apple, salt and pepper.
• Pour in water and gravy mixture and cook gently until it starts to thicken.
• Remove from heat and cool slightly.
• Gently squeeze excess milk from the bread (add the milk to the custard topping) and tear apart into chunks.
• Fold into meat mixture together with the beaten egg.
• Place the meat mixture into a greased 9 x 9" casserole dish and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cool completely.
• Prepare custard topping.
• For the custard topping: beat together the milk, eggs and salt.
• Gently pour over the cooled meat mixture.
• Sprinkle with nutmeg and place bay leaves on top.
• Return casserole to oven until the top is set- about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Serve warm (not hot or better still, room temperature) alongside yellow rice and sambals on the side.
• Cook rice in the usual manner adding turmeric and salt to the water.
• Drain and fluff up, add almonds.
• Place the sambals in small serving dishes and allow guests to help themselves.

SOUTH AFRICAN SHEPHERD'S PIE (BOBOTIE)

Steps:

• Place slice of white bread in a bowl and cover with milk (enough to saturate) and set aside.
• Heat cooking oil in frying pan. Add onions and garlic to pan and sauté. In small bowl, stir together curry, jam, worchestershire, turmeric then add to pan.
• Add ground beef and stir until lightly browned, then remove from heat.
• Drain excess milk from bread and mash with one egg. Add to beef and mix well. Press mixture into casserole dish.
• Topping:.
• In small bowl, combine milk, 1 egg, and remaining turmeric. Pour over casserole (do not mix in).
• Place in 350° oven for 45 minutes or until topping is golden (1 hour if doubled).
• Serve over rice. I add a Tsp of turmeric to my rice while cooking to complement the casserole :).

BOBOTIE, SOUTH AFRICAN LAMB

Steps:

• In a large skillet: 1. Saute onion in oil until translucent, then add garlic 2. Add curry and turmeric 3. Add tomato paste, sweating off a bit 4. Add lamb and cook for 20 minutes with bay leaf 5. Remove and save bay leaves. At this point you can transfer to a dutch oven or other large casserole (or this can be done after step #7) 6. Salt, pepper, cayenne to taste. 7.Add raisins, almonds, chopped peaches/apricots, chutney. As the mixture cooks you can add in the juices from the canned fruit to keep the mixture loose (it should be like chili.) 8. Let the mix cool; soak bread in milk and mash up with fork and add to mixture. 9. Pour the eggs over the entire mixture. This is when you can return the bay leaves to the casserole, placing them decoratively on top of the egg. 10. Bake casserole at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. The eggs should come out like custard not like an omelet so be careful not to cook too much. Serve with yellow rice, and perhaps offer chutney on the side, yogurt, even shredded coconut.

BOBOTIE (SOUTH AFRICAN BEEF CASSEROLE)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Pour milk over bread in medium bowl. Lightly press bread into milk; let stand until ready to use.
• Brown meat in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Remove meat from skillet; drain. Set aside.
• Add dressing to skillet; heat 1 min. Add onions; cook 3 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Add tomato paste and dry seasonings; mix well. Cook and stir 2 min. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in meat.
• Squeeze bread slices over bowl to remove as much milk from bread as possible; reserve milk for later use. Add bread to meat mixture along with the chutney; mix well. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray.
• Whisk eggs with reserved milk until blended; pour over meat mixture.
• Bake 50 min. or until topping is golden brown and set in the center. About 30 min. before casserole is done, cook rice as directed on package, omitting salt.
• Top casserole with cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted. Serve with the rice.

SOUTH AFRICAN BOBOEJIE/BOBOTIE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute one one chopped onion in 3 tablespoons butter until translucent.
• Add the ground beef, salt and pepper and saute until meat is no longer pink.
• Add the gravy powder, bay leaf, and beef stock.
• Braise while working on next step.
• In another saucepan, brown remaining onion in remaining butter and then add curry, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, apricot jam, vinegar and chutney.
• Merge the ingredients from the 2 pans into one saucepan and continue to cook until the sauce has reduced to a stew consistency (about 15-20 minutes).