Bobotie
A well-known dish from South African cuisine, which is simply well-seasoned minced meat served with egg coating. There are hundreds of different recipes for this food. I tried to follow the most common variants both in terms of preparation and seasoning. There are many spices and various flavors mixed together in this dish, in addition, this food is flavored with apricots and raisins.
The roots of this food are dated back to the 18th century. It is possible that it has roots in Indonesia because a similar dish is prepared on Java island. Parallels are also drawn to the British shepherd’s pie and the Greek moussaka.
Food has been rooted in South African Malay cuisine for centuries and is quite common in South Africa today.
I like the unexpected and unique flavors of South African cuisine. I recommend trying this food, not getting scared of the many spices (they can be also replaced to some extent) and the fact that the meat dish is spicy and sweet at the same time.
The bobotie is classically served with South African yellow rice, which is delicious as separate food but goes well with this food.
Preparation time: 30 min preparation, 20-30 min baking
Level: average
Serves: four
Ingredients:
600 g of minced beef
3 medium garlic cloves crushed
2 medium grated carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
A handful of golden raisins
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste
100ml of water or broth
2 tablespoons apricot jam or chopped dried apricots
Juice of about 1.5 lemons
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
0.5 teaspoons ground ginger
0.5 teaspoons ground cumin
0.25 teaspoon ground coriander
0.25 teaspoon ground cinnamon
0.25 teaspoon ground cardamom
If desired, 0.25 teaspoon of cayenne or chili powder
0.5 teaspoons of sea salt
0.5 teaspoons ground black pepper
3 large eggs
200 ml of milk
3-4 bay leaves for decoration
For serving fresh cucumber slices
Served with roasted cashew nuts
Preparation:
1. Chop onions and garlic, grate carrots, brown these components slightly in a pan with olive oil.
2. Add minced meat, stir and cook until browned, add broth or water, raisins, tomato paste, all spices, and lemon juice. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, to mix the meat and spices.
3. Mix the egg and milk into a smooth mixture. Spoon the minced meat mixture tightly to the bottom of the pan and pour over the milk-egg mixture.
4. Place 3-4 bay leaves on the surface of the egg for decoration. Lower the temperature to a minimum and cook under the lid until the egg hardens. You can also bake without a lid at 180 degrees in the oven until the egg clots.
5. Serve with South African golden rice and garnish with fresh cucumber and roasted cashews.
Done !!!
