Bobotie (South African Curried Mince)
Bobotie is a traditional South African dish with Cape Malay origins. It's amazingly aromatic and has a delicious sweet and savory profile. To me it just reminds me of winter comfort food.
Ingredients
Babotie Mince Base
- 3 tbsp Ghee
- 1 Brown Onion finely chopped
- 1.5 tbsp curry powder
- 1.5 tsp Tumeric (Ground)
- 1.5 tsp Cumin (Ground)
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp Coriander (Ground)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp Garlic (Minced) or 1 Clove
- 1 kg Beef Mince or Lamb Mince
- 1 tbsp Hemp Seeds optional
- 2 tsp Aunty Mary's Apricot Jam
- 2 tbsp Aunty Mary's Tomato Relish
- 1 cup Beef Broth or Stock
- 3 Bay Leaves
- Himalayan Salt (to taste)
Savory Custard
- 1 tin Coconut Cream (240mL)
- 4 Egg (Large)
- Salt and Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
Babotie Mince Base
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Peel and dice onion.
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Heat frying pan with ghee and sweat down the onion until translucent. I prefer to do this on a low to medium heat to caramalise the onion more.
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Add spices to the pan with the onion and toast until fragrant. It's important to toast the spices, it enhances the flavour and stops a grainy uncooked flavour at the end.
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Add the garlic and mince to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently to break up any big chunks, until browned. Stir through the hemp seeds.
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While the mince is browning, add the beef stock, chutney and apricot jam to a jug and mix until combined.
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Add the stock mix to the pan with the mince, mix through, add the bay leaves and leave to reduce on a low heat.
Savory Custard
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In a mixing bowl or large measuring jug, whisk the coconut cream and eggs together. Season to taste.
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Transfer the mince mix to an oven proof bowl. Gently pour the cream mix over the top of the mince and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes at 170℃. The custard should be set and cooked through with a tiny bit of a jiggle.
Recipe Notes
- Beef and lamb mince both work beautifully. This is also a prime candidate recipes for the Quorn vegetarian mince. I've done a mix of meat mince and Quorn to add some additional fibre and veg serving for the day.
- You can sub out coconut cream with full cream. I prefer the taste of the coconut with the curry but both are lovely.
- The super smart way to do this is in a cast iron skillet which means one pot cooking. Cook the mince in the pan, add the custard and then bake in the pan. My oven is possessed so I have to use the air fryer. But whenever possible, I've done it all in the one pan (and that's the way Oupa always cooked it too!).