Bobotie recipe - South African curried meatloaf casserole

Ingredients

• 500 g / 1.1 lbs mince meat (I used beef and pork 60/40)
• 2 tablespoons frying oil
• 2 medium onions (diced)
• 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• a large pinch ground cardamom
• a pinch Cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam
• 1 green apple (peeled and grated, I used Golden Delicious)
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 2 slices bread / 1 kaiser roll + milk for soaking (details in the recipe)
• 2 tablespoons raisins
• juice and zest from 1 lemon (preferably organic)
• 1.5 banana (sliced)
• 2 eggs
• 200 ml milk
• 2 tablespoons shredded coconut (to sprinkle on top)
• a couple bay leaves (for decoration, optional)
• 250 g / 8.8 oz rice
• 650 ml boiling water
• 3 cloves
• 3 cardamom pods (lightly crushed)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons raisins (50g)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• green beans

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Casserole: ---

2. 2

   Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan, add the chopped onions, cook over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, until translucent. Add chopped garlic and spices and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Move to the side of the pan.

3. 3

   Increase the heat to the highest setting, add the second tablespoon of oil and ½ meat, cook for about 2 minutes (don’t stir), then stir and cook until the meat is no longer pink (don’t cook the meat for too long so it won’t dry out). Move to the side of the pan and repeat with the remaining meat. Mix the browned meat with onions, garlic, and spices together. Take the pan off the heat.

4. 4

   Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.

5. 5

   Soak the bread in milk, then blend in a food processor into a paste. I used 1 kaiser roll and about ½ cup of milk. You don’t need to remove the crust, just break the kaiser roll into smaller pieces, soak in milk, then puree in a food processor until paste forms, you shouldn’t be lumpy. If you don’t want to blend the kaiser roll/bread, you need to remove the crust, then crumble it finely and soak in milk.

6. 6

   Add to the pan: apricot jam, peeled, cored and grated apple, tomato paste, raisins, juice and lemon zest, and the bread-milk paste.

7. 7

   Place the pan back on the stovetop, stir fry for about 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, transfer the content of the pan into a baking dish (I used a round 26 cm /10-inch baking dish).

8. 8

   Place banana slices on top of the casserole.

9. 9

   Mix the eggs with milk, pour over the meat mixture. Sprinkle with shredded coconut on top, then place the bay leaves.

10. 10

    Bake for 30 minutes until the egg custard is set and browned at the edges. After removing the casserole from the oven, leave to rest for about 5-10 minutes before cutting into portions.

11. 11

    Serve with yellow rice and boiled green beans.

12. 12

    --- Rice and beans: ---

13. 13

    Rinse the rice. Add the cardamom pods, cloves, turmeric, salt and rice in a medium pot. Pour in boiling water, stir, bring to a boil and cover. Simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes or until rice absorbs water and is soft.

14. 14

    Cook the green beans (I used frozen) for about 3 minutes in lightly salted water. Drain.

15. 15

    Enjoy!