In an effort to "spice" up our weekly blogs, we have decided that every 6 weeks we will give you a traditional Southern African recipe.

So this week we start off with a delicious, heart-warming, all time South African favourite, Bobotie. 

A little history on this particular dish, courtesy of Wikipedia: 

Bobotie (Afrikaans: [bəˈbuəti]) is a well-known South African dish consisting of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping 

The origin of the word Bobotie is contentious. The Afrikaans etymological dictionary claims that the probable origin is the Malayan word boemboe, meaning curry spices. Others think it to have originated from bobotok, an Indonesian dish which consisted of totally different ingredients. The first recipe for bobotie appeared in a Dutch cookbook in 1609. Afterwards, it was taken to South Africa and adopted by the Cape Malay community. It is also made with curry powder leaving it with a slight "tang". It is often served with sambal. The dish has been known in the Cape of Good Hope since the 17th century, when it was made with a mixture of mutton and pork.

Traditional South African bobotie recipe

Serves up to eight people, but you can adjust it to make the recipe smaller.

Ingredients

• 1x 2.5cm thick slice bread (white or brown) – remove the crusts
• 375 ml milk
• 25 ml oil
• 10ml butter
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 25 ml curry powder (hot or mild depending on your taste)
• 10ml salt
• 25ml chutney
• 15ml smooth apricot jam
• 15ml Worcester sauce
• 5ml turmeric
• 25ml brown vinegar
• 1 kg raw beef or mutton/lamb mince
• 100 ml sultanas (raisins are very sweet and not the best for this receipe – sultanas are better)
• 3 eggs
• pinch each salt and turmeric (for egg mixture)
• bay leaves

Cooking method

1. Soak bread in milk. Heat oil and butter in large pan and fry onions and garlic.
2. When onions are soft, add curry powder, salt, chutney, jam, Worcester sauce, turmeric and vinegar and mix well.
3. Drain and mash bread and reserve milk. Add mashed bread to pan together with mince and sultanas.
4. Cook over low heat, stirring, and when meat turns brown remove from stove. Add 1 beaten egg, mix well, then spoon into a greased, 28 x 16 cm baking dish and level the top.
5. Beat remaining eggs with reserved milk (you should have 300ml, or a little more) and the salt and turmeric.
6. Pour over meat mixture and put a few bay leaves on top. Stand dish in a larger pan of water (this is important to prevent drying out) and bake, uncovered, at 180 degrees celsius (350 fahrenheit) for 1 hour or until set.

Serve with rice, shaved coconut, fruit chutney, nuts and bananas.