Bobotie

Bobotie is the closest dish that South Africa has to a national dish. Influenced by the various settlers, it contains curry, fruit, herbs and spices and is delicious served with a spicy sambal or chilli sauce.

This recipe was selected from the BBC Good Food website with some minor variations

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the filling:

2 onions, chopped
25g butter
2 cloves garlic, mince
1kg lean, minced beef
2 tablespoons madras curry powder
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons mango chutney
2 slices of wholemeal bread
3 tablespoons sultanas
6 bay leaves

For the topping:

300ml full cream milk
2 large eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven at 180c and place shelf at the middle position.
2. Pour cold water over the bread and put to one side to soak.
3. Fry the onions in the butter for 10 mins until soft.
4. Add the garlic and the beef and stir to break up the mince.
5. Stir in the curry powder, herbs, spices, chutney, sultanas and 2 of the bay leaves.
6. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Squeeze the water from the bread and add to the meat mixture. Break up the bread chunks and blend well into the mixture.
9. Transfer to an oven proof dish (about 28cm x 28cm and 5cm deep). Press the mixture down into the dish and ensure the top is even.
10. Prepare the topping by beating the milk with the eggs, then pour over the meat mixture. Top with the remaining 4 bay leaves.
11. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the topping is set and golden.