Bobotie

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One of the most flavorful and delicious dishes you will ever try, Bobotie is an absolute feast for the taste buds!  The national dish of South Africa, Bobotie features meat, fruit, curry, and a host of other spices and ingredients that combine to create the most delightful palate of flavors.  This authentic bobotie recipe is sure to win you over!

“You say ‘bo-bo-tee’, I say ‘bo-boo-tee”, let’s call the whole thing off.” But wait, let’s not!  Because no matter how you pronounce it, Bobotie is much too delicious to be the cause of our parting. This traditional South African casserole is one of the most flavorful dishes you’ll ever eat. This is one the first recipes I published on my blog back in 2013 and it has remained an all-star favorite in our home ever since!

What is Bobotie?

Bobotie, pronounced bo-bo-tee, is the national dish of South Africa. It’s a dish that combines sweet and savory flavors in perfect balance. Ground meat, dried fruits, bread, and Indian spices are just a few of the ingredients that come together in this baked casserole.  Meatloaf fans, you’ll love this.  Casserole fans, you will too.  And if you love both, well this dish is your culinary soul mate!

This dish stems from the influence of early Dutch and Malaysian settlers to South Africa.  Originally minced mutton or lamb was used, but beef and pork are now commonly used as well.  As with many traditional dishes, there are different variations of bobotie, but it is essentially a meatloaf that’s mixed with dried fruits, including raisins and apricots, along with fruit chutney, vinegar, curry and turmeric, and is baked in a casserole dish with a custard sauce poured over it.  It is traditionally served with yellow rice, which is simply white rice cooked with turmeric for color.  A classic and beloved dish in South Africa, you are almost guaranteed to find it served in most any restaurant.  Bobotie is a great representation of how history and various cultural influences came together to create what is known today as South African cuisine.

This dish is a favorite in my home.  And when I say favorite, I mean my family gets especially excited whenever I make this. It’s one of those dishes that I can make again and again and that my kids and husband never tire of. This authentic bobotie is a tried and true recipe and I’m confident you’re going to love it.  A truly unique and exceptionally flavorful dish or, as they say in South Africa, it’s “lekka chow!”

Bobotie Ingredients & Substitutions

Bobotie is made with ground meat, onions, a variety of spices, fruits, bread cubes, and an egg custard that is poured over before baking. The ingredient list is long but don’t let that put you off – this dish is really straightforward and easy to make. Here’s what you’ll need to make bobotie:

• Ground Meat: Traditionally bobotie is made with either beef, lamb, pork, or a combination. I like to use a combination of either beef and pork or lamb and pork.
• Onion and Garlic: Key aromatics.
• Butter or Olive Oil: For cooking the meat, onions and garlic.
• Stale Bread: Remove the crusts from two slices of bread (white/whole grain/sourdough, your choice) and let them sit out on the counter for a day or two until fairly dry. Cut them into small cubes. For gluten-free, use GF bread.
• Spices: You’ll need curry powder, turmeric, cumin, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, bay leaves, pepper and salt. Don’t omit any of these spices as the medley of flavors makes this dish phenomenal. Use a good curry powder. Either make your own (check out my BEST homemade curry powder) or use a good store-bought brand (I like Ship Label Madras curry powder).
• Dried Apricots and Raisins: These add sweetness, flavor, and make this dish so wonderfully and uniquely delicious. You can use regular raisins or golden raisins/sultanas.
• Apple: Unlike the other dried fruits, you’ll use a fresh apple for this. It contributes some fresh flavor contrast and adds moisture.
• Apricot Jam or Mango Chutney: This further underscores the flavor of the dried fruits, adding more phenomenal fruity flavor.
• Vinegar: This adds some tangy and acidic contrast to the sweet flavors. You can use malt vinegar (my preference for its bolder, deeper flavor) or apple cider vinegar.
• Milk and Eggs: This is for the custard that is poured over the casserole before its baked. If you’re dairy-free, you can substitute any dairy alternative of your choice.
• Nuts: Some South African chefs include either almonds or walnuts, sprinkled over the top before baking, but this is optional.

Beyond the ingredients needed for the bobotie itself, you’ll need turmeric-colored rice, known as yellow rice (the traditional accompaniment for bobotie), for serving.

Bobotie Recipe

Let’s get started!

Heat the butter or oil in a large frying pan and saute the onions and garlic until soft and translucent.

Add the ground meats and cook until most of the pink is gone.  

Add the curry, turmeric, cumin, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, salt and pepper and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the apricot jam or chutney and vinegar and stir to combine.

Prepare the bread by placing it in a small bowl. Pour the milk over it and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until soft. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread.

Add the egg and stir to combine. Add the bread cubes and stir to combine.

Stir in the apples, dried apricots and raisins or sultanas.

Grease a medium casserole dish (8×10 inches or so).

Spread the mixture evenly in the casserole dish.

Prepare the custard by whisking together the milk, eggs, salt, and turmeric. Pour the custard over the meat mixture.

Place some bay leaves on top. If using, sprinkle with slivered almonds or walnuts.

Bake, uncovered, in oven preheated to 350 degrees for about an hour, or until the mixture is set and the custard is golden brown. Let it sit for about minutes and then serve.

Storage and Reheating

Bobotie wil keep tightly covered in the fridge for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen: let it cool completely and freeze it in a freezer-safe dish tightly covered for up to 3 months. It can be reheated in the oven or in the microwave.

How to Serve Bobotie

Bobotie is traditionally served with yellow rice.  To make yellow rice, cook the rice as you normally would, but add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric per 1 cup uncooked rice.

In the pic below (from my original 2013 post), slivered almonds are strewn over the top before baking. Some South African chefs include almonds or walnuts but their inclusion is not widespread. I like the contrast in textures but my kids don’t care for the nuts in this, so I usually omit them.

Enjoy!

 Originally published on The Daring Gourmet August 9, 2013