Updated April 2021. Bobotie is classic Cape Malay that is very morish. The whole family makes it, from Johannesburg to Cape Town, to Stellenbosch and even those we miss so much in Amsterdam. The recipe gets updated from time to time so although it has comments older than the published date, it just means there was a little recipe tweak.

These ingredients make enough for 6 and like any curry dish often seems to taste better the following day, so keep a little aside if you can. This is one of my all time favorite recipes that you can pick at all day long, never fails to get compliments and is as simple as pie to make. It’s a classic bobotie recipe!

What you need

1kg mince
2 medium onions thinly sliced
1 slice white bread
250ml milk
3 eggs
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
25ml vinegar
half a cup seedless raisins (If you really don’t like raisins leave them out but it is highly recommended not to leave them out)
4 bay leaves
3 tablespoons fruit chutney
2 teaspoons turmeric

The Process

In a medium to hot pan cook the onions until soft, then add the mince and brown, mixing well to combine the onions.

While this is going on dip the bread in milk and Mash it up in a bowl with a metal fork.

Put 1 egg, half a cup of milk and the bayleaves aside.

Mix all the other ingredients together and then combine with the mince, allowing it to cook and the flavours to combine for about 5 minutes or. You will need to give it plenty of attention, ensuring that all of the flavours are well combined and the kitchen smells wonderful.

Place this mixture into a greased oven proof dish and bake at 180 Celsius for half an hour.

Beat the remaining milk and eggs that you put aside earlier and  pour over meat mixture. Float the bay leaves on the top and bake for another half an hour.

Done and delicious. If you like bobotie, you are going to love the Sosatie recipe.