Bobotie

Serves

4 to 6 persons

Ingredients

  1. 1kg steak mince
  2. 1 large onion
  3. 1 tablespoon oil
  4. 1 thick slice stale bread without the crust (white)
  5. 1 cup milk (more or less)
  6. 1 tablespoon apricot jam
  7. juice of half a lemon (you can add if you like it less sweet)
  8. 10-12 dried apricots
  9. 2 tablespoons seedless raisins
  10. 15 blanched almonds (ie. with skin removed) -optional but adds the crunch
  11. 1 teaspoon curry powder (more if you prefer it stronger but the dish is meant to have a mild curried flavour)
  12. 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated ( I am happy with a little more)
  13. 3 cloves garlic
  14. salt and pepper
  15. 6 lemon leaves (or 3 bay leaves as a poor substitute) -you could grate a bit of the rind of the lemon before you squeeze it for the juice and add it to the bay leaves but add carefully so as not to allow the lemon to dominate
  16. 2 eggs
  17. milk

Directions

  1. Lightly fry chopped onion in oil till golden. Add chopped garlic. Add grated ginger. Take off the fire.
  2. Soak bread in half a cup of milk. Crumble with a fork. Add to the mince. Mix well.
  3. Place pot on stove. Add a little oil if the onion has absorbed it all. Put meat and all other ingredients except the rest of the milk, the lemon leaves and the eggs.
  4. Mix like mad to avoid lumps. Cook until soft and cooked through, to the stage when meat is getting brown and not pink.
  5. Be smart and use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat mixture to a baking dish about 5cm high as you will have to add on. Make sure you taste at this stage to correct seasonings. You can add more of any ingredients at this stage. Don`t taste too often as there will be little left for others!!!!
  6. You will probably have some residual gravy in the pot. Reduce it by gently cooking without lid on and add to the baking dish. This makes the dish a little richer in flavour.
  7. Now beat the two eggs. Add 1 cup of milk plus what is left of the milk in which the bread had been soaked. Total should not exceed one and a half cups. Mix well. Add salt and pepper.
  8. Check that there is not too much water in the baking dish containing the milk. The meat should not be dry but there should not be any gravy at the bottom.
  9. Pour milk and egg mixture after beating till well mixed on to the bobotie mixture. Place lemon leaves or substitute bay leaves & a little lemon rind on top.
  10. Bake uncovered in moderate oven (350 - 375 F) for 30 to 40 min. Till the egg mixture has become set.

Serving Suggestion

Serve with yellow rice.