Bobotie is a South African dish. Some say it is the National Dish of South Africa. It is a meat dish that is spicy and sweet at the same time and topped with a kind of egg custard. There appear to be many variations and I am adding one more to the mix. My version contains ground beef and to, spice it up, some garam masala, ginger and mango chutney along with kaffir lime leaves. To sweeten it I added dried apricots and ground almonds. For the topping I whisked lite coconut milk and eggs together which, when cooked, form a kind of custard.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
1 tbsp. olive seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion – finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic – grated
1 x 2 inch piece of fresh ginger – grated
1 tsp. garam masala
1 pound of ground beef
2 tbsp. mango chutney
1 tbsp. ground almonds
8 dried apricots – chopped into small pieces
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 cup lite coconut milk
2 large eggs
Heat oil in a cast iron casserole dish and when sizzling add the onion and let soften and brown slightly before adding the garlic, ginger and garam masala. Stir and let cook for a couple of minutes before adding the ground beef.
When the meat is nicely browned stir in the chutney, ground almonds and apricots.
Transfer mixture to an ovenproof dish and place the kaffir leaves among it.
Whisk together the coconut milk and eggs and pour over the top of the meat.
Place in oven and cook for half an hour by which time the custard mixture should be set.
