Bobotie

Name: Bobotie
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 6 people
Cuisine: South African
Ingredients: 750 g Beef, minced; 2 slice White bread, crusts off; 300 ml Milk, 100 ml to soak the bread, 200 ml for the custard; 2 medium Onion, finely chopped; 2 clove Garlic, crushed; 2 tbsp Butter; 2 tbsp Curry powder, mild; 1 tsp Turmeric; 2 tbsp Apricot jam; 1 tbsp Vinegar, or lemon juice; 60 g Raisins; 30 g Almond, flaked; 4 piece Bay leaf; 2 piece Egg; 1.5 tsp Salt; 0.5 tsp Black pepper; 300 g Rice, long-grain; 1 tsp Turmeric; 40 g Raisins; 1 tsp Sugar

Cape Malay baked mince with curry, apricot, raisins and bay, under a savoury egg custard, served with yellow rice.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 1 hr
Rest: None
Total: 1 hr 25 min
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Mild
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Bobotie is spiced minced beef baked under a layer of egg and milk custard. The mince is cooked with onion, curry powder and turmeric, then sweetened and soured with apricot jam, a little vinegar and raisins, bulked with milk-soaked bread and pressed into a dish. Bay leaves are pushed into the top, the custard is poured over, and it bakes until set and golden. It is served with yellow rice: rice cooked with turmeric, a pinch of sugar and raisins. The flavour is gently curried and fruity, nothing fierce. Leftovers make the best sandwich in South Africa.

What you'll need

20 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 20 ready

6 servings

Bobotie
Yellow rice

Ingredients

Servings

Bobotie

Beef, minced750 g
White bread, crusts off2 slice
Milk, 100 ml to soak the bread, 200 ml for the custard300 ml
Onion, finely chopped2 medium
Garlic, crushed2 clove
Butter30 ml
Curry powder, mild30 ml
Turmeric4.9 ml
Apricot jam30 ml
Vinegar, or lemon juice15 ml
Raisins60 g
Almond, flaked (optional)30 g
Bay leaf4
Egg2
Salt7.4 ml
Black pepper2½ ml

Yellow rice

Rice, long-grain300 g
Turmeric4.9 ml
Raisins40 g
Sugar4.9 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Heat the oven to 180 °C. Soak the bread in 100 ml of milk. Melt the butter in a wide pan and soften the onion and garlic for 8 minutes without colouring.
10 min180°C
Step 2
Add the curry powder and turmeric and fry for a minute. Add the mince, turn the heat up, and break it apart until it is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Do not brown it hard; it should stay soft.
10 min
Step 3
Squeeze the bread and crumble it in, keeping the soaking milk. Stir in the jam, vinegar, raisins, almonds, salt and pepper. Cook 3 minutes and taste: sweet, sour, curried, well salted.
5 min
Tip: It should taste slightly too sweet at this stage. The custard and rice balance it.
Step 4
Press the mince into a buttered 2-litre baking dish and level it. Push the bay leaves upright into the top so they poke out.
3 min
Step 5
Beat the eggs with the reserved soaking milk and the remaining 200 ml of milk, plus a pinch of salt. Pour evenly over the mince. Bake until the custard is set and golden in patches, 35 to 40 minutes.
40 min180°C
Step 6
While it bakes, rinse the rice and cook it with the turmeric, sugar, a teaspoon of salt and 600 ml of water: boil, cover, lowest heat 12 minutes, then stir in the raisins and rest 5 minutes. Serve the bobotie in squares with the yellow rice and chutney.
20 min

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 615 kcal
Protein: 41.2 g
Carbs: 45.2 g
Fat: 29.2 g
Saturated fat: 11.8 g
Fibre: 2.9 g
Sugar: 15.4 g
Sodium: 658 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Wheat
Milk
Eggs
Tree nuts

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 11 November.

Substitutions

Apricot jam → Fruit chutney
Many families use chutney instead; add a little less vinegar.
White bread → 60 g fresh breadcrumbs
Same job: it keeps the mince tender.

Tips

Lamb mince is common at the Cape and makes a richer dish. Mix half and half if you like.
Rest the bobotie 10 minutes before cutting or the custard slides off the mince.
Mrs Ball's chutney is the South African accompaniment. Any fruity mango chutney stands in.

History & culture

Bobotie is Sunday lunch and school-canteen food across South Africa, and the dish most often named as the national one. It comes from the Cape Malay community of Cape Town, whose cooking blends Indonesian, Indian and Dutch kitchens. Served with yellow rice, chutney, sliced banana and sambals of tomato and onion.

The Dutch East India Company brought enslaved and exiled people from Java and the Indonesian islands to the Cape in the seventeenth century. Their spiced, sweet-sour meat dishes met Dutch baking habits. The name probably derives from the Javanese bobotok. Written recipes appear by the nineteenth century.

Traditional — Lemon or tamarind, chutney or apricot jam, almonds or none: every family differs. This is a middle-of-the-road Cape version.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Bobotie take?

1 hr 25 min all in — 25 min prep, 1 hr cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 6 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Easy.

How spicy is it?

Mild.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs, Tree nuts. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Is the published recipe vegetarian or vegan?

It is not labelled vegetarian or vegan. If a swap on this page says otherwise, that note is the limit of what we claim.

8 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Frying pan, Oven, Baking tray, Mixing bowl.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1½ tsp.

How much vinegar?

1 tbsp (or lemon juice) of Vinegar.

How much sugar?

1 tsp of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Apricot jam → Fruit chutney. Many families use chutney instead; add a little less vinegar. White bread → 60 g fresh breadcrumbs. Same job: it keeps the mince tender.

Any tips from this recipe?

Lamb mince is common at the Cape and makes a richer dish. Mix half and half if you like. Rest the bobotie 10 minutes before cutting or the custard slides off the mince. Mrs Ball's chutney is the South African accompaniment. Any fruity mango chutney stands in.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.