Jules *Proudly South African* Bobotie Recipe

Proudly South African… after a weeks holiday in Cape Town, being able to see the mountain (when it isn’t hidden by a cloud), driving a mere hour outside of the city and being in one of the many Western Cape winelands (Paarl, Stellenbosch, Franschoek) with more choices of winefarms than Imelda Marcos has with her shoe collection… and more importantly, feeling Proudly South African when it comes to my heritage, culture and cuisine.

I have this overwhelming urge to walk around Brussels holding a South African flag – smiling and waving as if I am participating in the Opening Ceremony Olympic Walk… but I dare not… (well at least not  in the neighbourhoods where people might actually recognize me… or HIM… although for that matter – I am pretty sure he would still walk next to me – cos he loves me and all that – right?!?)

A truly South African dish is the Bobotie…. a spiced minced meat dish baked with an egg-based topping… likely to have originated from the Dutch East India Company colonies and adapted by the Cape Malay community in SA.

And this is my aunt Jules version of the recipe – one that she has been recreating over 20years!! And we have all been adoring and happily scoffing!

Bobotie:

2 onions (sliced)

oil

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 slice of thick (crustless) bread

375ml milk

25ml curry powder

10ml salt

25ml Chutney

12,5ml Apricot Jam

12,5ml Worcestershire Sauce

5ml Tumeric

25ml brown vinegar

1kg raw mince

100ml Sultanas

3 egg

1. Soak bread in Milk
2. Fry in a big pan of oil the onions and crushed garlic
3. When the onion is soft – add the curry powder, salt, chutney, apricot jam, worcestershire sauce, tumeric and brown vinegar
4. Mix well
5. Add mince and stir
6. Drain and mash the bread and add with the sultanas (keep the milk to one side)
7. Cook over a low heat while stirring
8. When the meat is browned, remove from heat and stir in 1 beaten egg
9. Spoon into a medium greased baking dish (28x16cm) and smooth top
10. 
11. Beat 2eggs with the drained milk – with a pinch of salt and pinch of tumeric
12. Pour over meat mixture

13. 

    I added a few sage leaves as well 🙂

14. Stand dish in a bain marie and bake at 180C for 1hr (or until set)
15. Serve with rice (some like to serve with yellow rice – which is when you add tumeric and sultana’s to the rice when it is cooking)