A hearty and comforting bobotie recipe, made with curried minced beef, fruit, and a savoury egg custard topping, which is baked in the oven until golden.
Flavourful, punchy, and something a little bit different to the usual minced beef recipes of chilli con carne, spaghetti bolognese and keema, which tend to do weekly rotations in our house!
Often considered the national dish of South Africa, bobotie (pronounced 'ba-boor-tea') originates from the Cape Malay community, which has also given rise to a number of other dishes that are now considered core to South African cooking, including sosaties and bredie!
Essentially, this easy bobotie recipe is a delicious mixture of curried minced meat and fruit (golden raisins are typical) with a creamy golden topping, not dissimilar to moussaka.
Best of all it's really yummy, and the kids always request seconds (which is a win in my book)!
👩🍳 Looking for another easy recipe that uses minced beef? Try my easy lasagne with a cheat's white sauce!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
- A beef mince recipe that's something a bit different to the usual chilli con carne, bolognese and lasagne!
- Easy to make
- Savory and meaty, but with a hint of sweetness and spice
- Complex flavors and textures that are guaranteed get your taste buds excited
- The curried beef mince part of the recipe is freezer-friendly
🛒 Ingredients
- Beef Mince - 500g of 10% fat minced beef.
- Bread - 1 slice of thick white bread. I find that white bread absorbs the milk much better than wholemeal.
- Milk - full-fat or semi skimmed milk to soak the bread.
- Butter - for frying the onion and garlic.
- Onion - 1 medium onion, chopped finely.
- Garlic - 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped.
- Curry Paste - I use tikka curry paste, but if you like your food spicy, use madras curry paste instead. Swap for curry powder if you prefer to use that.
- Cumin
- Apple - 1 Granny Smith apple, grated. Squeeze out excess moisture using a clean tea towel.
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Mango Chutney - 2 tablespoons give the dish a delicious fruity flavour. You could also use apricot jam.
- Bay Leaves - 2 fresh or dried bay leaves.
For the egg topping;
- Eggs - 2 large free-range eggs at room temperature.
- Double Cream - creates the savoury egg custard topping. Milk could be used instead, but has a tendancy to sink into the mince if you haven't packed it tightly enough into the baking dish.
- Milk - reserved from soaking the bread.
- Nutmeg - a small pinch of grated nutmeg.
🔪 How to make South African bobotie
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Soak the bread in milk in a shallow bowl.
Two: Meanwhile, heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the onions and garlic on a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.
Three: Add in the minced beef and cook until it has changed colour.
Four: Mix in the curry paste, cumin, grated apple, mango chutney, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves.
Five: Simmer for 5 minutes.
Six: Squeeze the milk from the slice of bread, being careful to reserve this milk as you will need it for the topping, and add it to the minced beef. Stir thoroughly until the bread is combined.
Seven: Spoon the mixture into an oven-proof baking dish and pack down firmly with the back of a spoon.
Eight: In a jug, whisk together the eggs, cream, nutmeg and reserved milk and pour onto the beef mixture. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the topping is golden. Garnish with extra bay leaves if you like.
💭 Top tips
- Make sure the beef mixture is packed down firmly into your baking dish. This will ensure the savoury custard topping does not sink to the bottom of the dish, but instead remain on top, where it will become golden and delicious on baking!
- Save time and make the minced beef mixture ahead of time. Let it cool down first before transferring it to an airtight container and storing it in the fridge. The curried beef mince can also be frozen.
- Add dried fruit into the ground beef mixture for texture and sweetness.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Traditionally bobotie is served with yellow rice and tomato sambal. I sometimes also serve a green side salad with it or seasonal green vegetables such as roasted Tenderstem broccoli or asparagus.
📖 Variations
- This easy bobotie recipe can be doubled to feed a crowd.
- Add in a handful of chopped dried apricots or raisins for an extra fruity hit.
- Garnish the baked dish with some toasted pine nuts for crunch and texture.
- Make it spicy by using a hot curry powder and adding a chopped red chilli at the same time as the onion and garlic.
- Make it with ground lamb (minced lamb) instead.
🥡 Storage
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheated until piping hot in the microwave.
💡 Get Ahead Tip - the curried beef mince can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months! All you need to do when you're ready bake, is whisk up the savoury egg topping!
❓ FAQs
A dish of minced meat with curry and condiments.
The minced beef part of the recipe should be tightly packed into the baking dish and thus it resembles the consistency of meatloaf. The savoury egg custard topping is light and mousse like in texture.
😋Related recipes
More savoury mince recipes from the blog!
Tried this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating in the comments!
Recipe
Easy Bobotie
Ingredients
- 1 Slice of White Bread
- 100 ml Milk reserve the milk for the topping
- 20 g Butter
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves finely chopped
- 500 g Minced Beef
- 2 tablespoon Tikka Curry Paste
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- 1 Green Apple grated
- 2 tablespoon Mango Chutney
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Bay Leaves
- ½ teaspoon Salt
For the topping
- 2 Eggs large
- 150 ml Double Cream
- ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg grated
- Reserved milk from above
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160 fan/ Gas 4/ 350F).
- Soak the bread in milk in a shallow bowl.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the onions and garlic on a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add in the minced beef and cook until it has changed colour.
- Mix in the curry paste, cumin, grated apple, mango chutney, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Squeeze the milk from the slice of bread, being careful to reserve this milk as you will need it for the topping, and add it to the minced beef. Stir thoroughly until the bread is combined into the beef mince.
- Spoon the mixture into an oven-proof baking dish and pack down firmly with the back of a spoon.
- In a jug, whisk together the eggs, cream, nutmeg, and reserved milk and pour it onto the beef mixture. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the topping is golden and set. Garnish with extra bay leaves if you like.
Notes
- Make sure the beef mixture is packed down firmly into your baking dish. This will ensure the savoury custard topping does not sink to the bottom of the dish, but instead remain on top, where it will become golden and delicious on baking!
- Save time and make the minced beef mixture ahead of time. Let it cool down first before transferring it to an airtight container and storing it in the fridge. The curried beef mince can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
- This easy bobotie recipe can be doubled to feed a crowd.
- Add in a handful of chopped dried apricots or raisins for an extra fruity hit.
- Garnish the baked dish with some toasted pine nuts for crunch and texture.
- Make it spicy by using a hot curry paste and adding a chopped red chilli at the same time as the onion and garlic.
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Marlynn
I had never made this at home before but your recipe was a hit! Thanks for the easy instructions.
Jennifer
What a fabulous recipe! it turned out perfectly and was so full of flavor. I'll be making it again for sure!
Andrea
Oh this is perfect for my family. We are always looking for new and delicious recipes to make with ground beef.
Farah Maizar
Had never heard of this but looks so good! And simple to make, can't wait to try it out
Cathleen
Any time I see the word "easy" in the recipe, I know that I am going to love it. This recipe is so good, thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Beth
How incredibly delicious! I took your advice and added some golden raisins. My family just loved it.