South African Bobotie

Another inspiration from my recent trip to South Africa is my bobotie receipe. Bobotie is like a cross between cottage pie and moussaka with a sweat curried meat filling topped with egg. It's so easy to make and like a cottage pie it's really satisfying to eat especially when you have lots of Mrs Balls Chutney to go with it. 

The thing I like the most about bobotie is the different textures and flavours. It's sweet, spicy and sour all in one go. There's crunch from almonds and squidgy-ness from the raisins in the rice, and a bit of rough texture from the crusted egg at the top. Like other pies it tastes even better the next day, which gives me a lunch to look forward to during a tough morning at work. 

I served this with yellow rice, which is rice cooked with turmeric and raisins to give it the yellow texture. This also holds up well against the apricot jam and curry powder in the bobotie itself. I was being fairly neat with the picture below separating the bobotie from the rice and the chutney but normally what happens is I mix it all together to get a bit of everything with each mouthful. 

This is definitely a great alternative to the regular pies we make and everytime I eat it, I am reminded of how tasty it is. We're always fighting to eat the last piece. :)

Ingredients

1 lb (450g) minced Lamb

1/4 cup Milk

1 slice white Bread, crust removed and soaked in milk

1 Onion, chopped

Butter

cooking Oil

Salt & Pepper

1/2 tbsp Curry powder

1 Chilli, finely chopped

1/4 cup Vinegar

1/2 tbsp Lemon juice

1 tsp brown Sugar

1 tbsp Apricot jam

6 Almonds, crushed

4 eggs

1 clove of Garlic, crushed

3 Bay leaves

1 cup Rice

2 cups Water

3/4 cups Raisins, soaked in water to expand

1 tsp Turmeric powder

1 stick Cinnamon

Recipe

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees. Heat a large pan with cooking oil, then saute the garlic and onion with the curry powder. Cook until translucent. Add the minced meat to the pan and cook on a high heat to brown the meat. You want the meat to be almost cooked, so taste as you go and season now with salt. 

Squeeze the milk from the bread, and discard the milk. Add the bread, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and apricot jam to the mince. Mix well. If you're in a rush you can add this mixture to the pie dish, but I recommend cooking for 15-20 minutes longer to allow the meat to absorb the flavours. 

Prepare the pie dish by putting the bay leaves on the bottom of the pan. Spoon the meat mixture onto it and sprinkle the almonds over it. 

For the topping, beat the eggs and milk together with a dash of salt then pour over the meat mixture. Place the dish uncovered in the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until the egg mixture on the top has coloured and is set. 

While you're waiting for the bobotie to cook, you can make your yellow rice. Strain the raisins, then add them to the raw rice and top with water, tumeric powder and the cinnamon stick. Bring to boil on a high heat, and then turn the heat down and put a lid on. Simmer for 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Leave the lid on the pan so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. 

When the rice is cooked, cut a square of bobotie and put it on top and then add the chutney on the side. Enjoy.