Bobotie

Variations

• Lamb bobotie: Use minced lamb for a richer flavor.
• Lentil bobotie: Swap the meat for lentils (vegetarian).
• Sweeter: Add dried apricots along with the raisins.
• Mini bobotie: Bake individually in a muffin tin.

Tips

• The custard is not a topping, it is the thing that makes this one object, and a neighbour writes the contrast out. Minchi lines the three up: "shepherd's pie mashes the potato into a lid, bobotie covers it with a custard, minchi fries the potato and folds it through." A mash is laid on a filling that is already cooked and stays a separate layer. A custard is poured on as a liquid, runs into the surface of the mince and then sets there, so the two bake into one slab — which is why "only until just set" is a structural instruction and not a preference about softness.
• The milk is bought once and used twice, and the recipe says so in step one. Bread soaked in milk is a panade, and meatloaf states what it is for — without it "you've just made one giant hamburger patty" — while köfte draws the line for crumbs that go in dry, whose job is the opposite. Here the milk the bread did not take up is reserved and beaten with the eggs, so the same liquid holds water inside the mince and then seals it on top.
• Which makes the curry powder the one thing that has to happen before any of that. Frying it in the oil with the onion is blooming spices' rule for ground spice in fat, and it is the last moment in this recipe where there is a hot pan and free oil for it to dissolve into — everything after step two is mince, fruit and custard.
• Bloom the curry powder in the oil to lift its aroma.
• The milk-soaked bread keeps the meat moist — don't skip it.
• The balance of sweet (chutney, raisins) and curry is the whole point.
• Bake the custard only until just set so it stays soft.
• Serve with yellow (turmeric) rice for the classic South African plate.