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Mains · Cape Malay

Easy South African Bobotie

Lightly curried, fruit-sweetened beef mince under a golden baked egg custard, crowned with bay leaves.

C Shared by Cobus ✓ Home-tested in Cobus's kitchen
Makes
6 servings
Prep
20 min
Bake
30–35 min
Oven
180°C
The story behind it
Cobus
Cobus
Cooking from a Sunday-table tradition

If one dish sits at the centre of the South African table, it's this one. Sweet-savoury, gently spiced and made to feed a crowd — our Sunday-lunch peacemaker. Everyone's gran made it a little differently; this is the friendly, forgiving version I keep coming back to.

Heritage Cape Malay roots, brought to the Cape over three centuries ago · a Sunday & celebration dish
Ingredients

Mince Mixture

  • 2 tbspOil
  • 1Large onion, finely chopped
  • 2Garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 kgBeef mince
  • 2 tbspMild curry powder
  • 1 tspTurmeric
  • 1 tspGround coriander
  • ½ tspGround cumin
  • 1 tbspChutney
  • 1 tbspApricot jam
  • 2 tbspWorcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbspVinegar or lemon juice
  • 2 slicesWhite bread
  • ½ cupMilk (for soaking the bread)
  • ½ cupRaisins or sultanas
  • 1Apple, peeled & grated (optional)
  • ½ tspSalt
  • ½ tspBlack pepper
  • 2–3Bay leaves

Egg Topping

  • 3Eggs
  • 1 cupMilk
  • PinchSalt
Method
At a glance
1Soak bread
→
2Fry & brown
→
3Spice & simmer
→
4Dish & top
→
5Bake
~20 minPrep · fry & brown
~10 minSimmer
30–35 minBake · 180°C
Roughly an hour start to finish. The topping goes on just before baking, so have your eggs and milk ready.

  1. Heat the oven

    Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    180°C

  2. Soak the bread

    Soak the bread in the ½ cup of milk. Once soft, squeeze out the excess milk and mash the bread. Keep the squeezed-out milk aside for the topping.

  3. Fry onion & garlic

    Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the onion for about 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

  4. Brown the mince

    Add the mince and cook until browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.

  5. Add the spices

    Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, coriander and cumin. Cook for about 1 minute to release the aromas.

  6. Add chutney & fruit

    Add the chutney, apricot jam, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, soaked bread, raisins and grated apple. Season with salt and pepper.

  7. Simmer

    Simmer gently for about 10 minutes. The mixture should be moist but not watery.

    ~10 min

  8. Transfer to baking dish

    Spoon the mince into a greased baking dish and press it down evenly. Place the bay leaves on top.

  9. Make the topping

    Beat the eggs with the cup of milk and a pinch of salt. Pour the mixture gently over the mince.

  10. Bake

    Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the egg topping is set and lightly golden.

    30–35 min · 180°C
Serve with: yellow rice, raisins, chutney, sliced banana and sambals. For quick yellow rice, cook 2 cups of rice with 1 tsp turmeric, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar and a handful of raisins.
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