This is a South African favourite! A comforting meal of Malay origin, perfectly spiced to warm you up this winter. Bobotie is absolutely delicious served with a bit of savoury or yellow rice and dare I say, very sad if not accompanied by a dash of Mrs Balls chutney! The leftovers make a fabulous “mince on toast” breakfast, with a fried egg, toasted sarmie or Bobotie spring roll, if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers!

• 

Here’s what goes in:

Olive oil for frying
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of garlic, crushed
1kg of minced beef
1 quarter cup of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of chutney
1 cup of apple, grated
2 teaspoons of mild curry powder
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of turmeric
Half a teaspoon of ground ginger
Half a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Half a teaspoon of dried, or freshly chopped, chilli
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of salt
4 to 6 slices of white bread
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1 and a half cups of water
For the topping:
2 cups of buttermilk
3 eggs
Salt and paprika for seasoning

How to do it:

In a heavy-based pot, fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is soft and appears slightly transparent. Add the mince, seasoning, chilli and sauces to the pot – reserving the bay leaves for later – and continue to fry. Add the
grated apple and one cup of water to the pot and leave to simmer for about half an hour.
In the meantime, soak the bread in the white wine vinegar and the remaining half cup of water. Gently mash it with a fork.

Once the mince is ready, remove it from the heat and gently mix the mashed bread into the meat. This will lighten the texture. Transfer this into a large, rectangular, greased oven dish. Spread the mixture out evenly using the back of a spoon. Insert the bay leaves, one on either side of the dish. This adds flavour during the baking process.
To prepare the topping combine the buttermilk, eggs and salt and mix well using a hand whisk. Pour this over the meat so that it forms a custard-like layer over the top. Sprinkle with a little paprika for colour, and pop it into the oven. You
should bake this at 180°C for around 35 minutes until a golden brown crust is formed.
Serve with yellow rice, and sambals such as sliced bananas, chutney and chopped tomato and onion.