Bobotie

Ingredients

• 800g beef or lamb mince
• 2 thick slices white bread, crusts left on
• 400ml whole milk
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 3 tbsp fruit chutney (Mrs Ball's style)
• 2 tbsp apricot jam
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 80g sultanas or raisins
• 50g flaked almonds
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 3 eggs
• 6 fresh bay leaves
• Yellow rice and sliced banana, to serve

Before you cook

• Heat the oven to 180C.
• Tear the bread into a shallow bowl and pour over 200ml of the milk, then leave it to soak.
• Chop the onions, crush the garlic and grate the ginger.
• Grease a 2 litre baking dish.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook the onions for 10 minutes until soft and translucent.
2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the curry powder, turmeric and allspice and toast them for 90 seconds until the kitchen smells of it.
4. Raise the heat, add the mince, and break it up with a wooden spoon.
5. Brown the mince for 8 minutes, letting some of it catch on the pan for colour.
6. Squeeze the soaked bread with your hands and keep the milk, then crumble the bread into the pan.
7. Add the chutney, apricot jam, vinegar, sultanas, half the almonds, the salt and the pepper.
8. Cook everything together for 5 minutes, then taste and check it is equally sweet, sour and spiced.
9. Tip the mixture into the greased dish and press it down flat with the back of a spoon.
10. Whisk the eggs with the reserved soaking milk and the remaining 200ml milk with a pinch of salt.
11. Pour the custard evenly over the meat so it covers the whole surface.
12. Tuck the bay leaves upright into the custard, spaced across the dish.
13. Scatter the remaining almonds over the top.
14. Bake for 45 minutes until the custard is set, puffed at the edges and golden brown in patches.
15. Rest the bobotie for 10 minutes before cutting, and warn everyone not to eat the bay leaves.