Bobotie is South Africa’s much-loved delicious casserole dish made with ground beef and slightly sweet curry, topped with a creamy mixture of milk and egg. And thus, this classic dish has a rich, savory, spicy, and slightly sweet, aromatic flavor. The dish is revered as South Africa’s national dish.

However, it is originally an Indonesian dish and was first introduced to South Africa by Dutch traders in the 17th century. South Africa’s Cape Town was a stopping point for Dutch traders transiting to and from Indonesia.

They were connoisseurs of cuisine and so brought the spices, cooking techniques, and recipe of Bobotie with them. However, It was later adapted to suit the available ingredients of South Africa.

So now, there are a variety of ways to cook this delectable cuisine. There are vegetarian and vegan options as well. While ingredients slightly differ according to these diets, Bootie’s taste remains as it is with its key spices.

The curry powder and bay leaves are the ingredients that give this dish its characteristic flavor. Therefore make sure you pick the authentic and quality spices from trusted spice suppliers like Kitchenhutt.

We provide our customers with authentic and flavor-rich spices cultivated and exported from India. Like any other dish, spices are a core ingredient for Bobotie, so make sure you use the quality ones to make your dish finger-licking yummy.

INGREDIENTS

500g ground beef
2 large eggs
1 and ½ cup milk (divided)
3 slices of bread
2 large onions (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
4 bay leaves
4 teaspoon tomato paste
4 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried herbs of your choice (basil, oregano, marjoram)
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon apricot jam
½ cup fruit chutney
1 lemon zest and ½ lemon juice (divided)
Salt and pepper as per taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Soak the bread slices in 1 cup of milk.
Take a large skillet or sauté pan and heat the olive oil on medium flame.
Once the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté until they soften.
Add curry powder, dried herbs, garlic, cumin powder and turmeric powder.
Stir continuously for a minute or two until the garlic is soft.
Add the ground beef and frequently stir, breaking the bug chucks. Cook until it becomes brown.
Once the beef is brown, remove the skillet from flame and add chutney, jam, tomato paste, lemon zest, and lemon juice. At last, add salt and pepper as per your taste and stir everything well.
Now squeeze the milk from bread slices, and tear them into small pieces. Add the bread to the beef mixture and give it a good stir.
Spread the mixture on an oven-proof dish.
Strain the milk the bread was soaked in and mix with the remaining half cup of milk.
Beat two eggs with milk and add ¼ teaspoon of salt and pepper.
Pour this milk-egg mixture over the meat and spread evenly. Lastly, Decorate bay leaves over this mixture.
Put the tray into a preheated oven and bake it for 45 minutes or until it turns golden brown and your Bobotie is ready to serve
Gorge it hot with rice and enjoy this sweet, spicy, and savory South African dish.

ORDER FRESH BULK SPICES ONLINE FROM KITCHEN HUTT SPICES:  

Cumin Powder
Turmeric Powder