South African Bobotie Recipe with Yellow Rice & Tomato Sambal

South Africa's treasure, often called the national dish, Bobotie has a perfect balance of spice and sweetness. This South African Bobotie recipe is a spiced and fruity minced lamb or beef dish baked in the oven with a creamy egg custard topping. We served it with a bowl of fluffy yellow rice and sambals as side dishes. Utterly delicious, this mildly spiced and unusually sweet meat dish is definitely a must-try!

Jump to:

• What is Bobotie? 
• Ingredients and Substitutes
• Step-By-Step Method
• What to Serve with Bobotie?
• Reader Review
• South African Feast, Anyone?
• Other African Food Recipes
• South African Bobotie with Yellow Rice and Sambal

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What is Bobotie? 

Simply put, Bobotie is a spiced minced meat dish with an egg custard topping. Normally made with ground beef or lamb and dried fruit and garnished with sweet chutney and bananas, this is an unusually sweet meat dish for the Western pallet (unusual, but ridiculously delicious).

The traditional bobotie recipe calls for either ground lamb or beef, but there are plenty of more modern versions today, using turkey or pork mince too!

Origin of Bobotie

Like many national dishes that had recipes passed down from generation to generation, the origin of Bobotie is unclear and disputed.

The name bobotie allegedly comes from a Malayal boemboe, meaning curry. It is always claimed that the very first recipe for bobotie was found in a Dutch cookbook back in the 17th century in the Cape Malay community in the area around Cape Town.

Bobotie was declared the national dish of South Africa by the United Nations Women's Organisation in 1954 and is often made for a family dinner and for a special occasion.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Don't be discouraged by the long list of Bobotie ingredients - most of them are spices or store cupboard ingredients that you likely have at home already. 

• a large slice of white bread: we used a slice of sourdough bread with the crust cut off, but everyday sliced bread (white or brown) will work just fine. 
• milk
• brown onion: can be substituted with shallots, or white or red onion. 
• garlic cloves: can be substituted with garlic paste. 
• curry powder: we used medium curry powder, but feel free to use mild powder or curry paste. 
• bobotie spice mix: ½ teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon coriander, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• lemon juice: ideally from a lemon, not the bottle. Lime can be used here too if that's what you have. 
• mango chutney: although in a traditional bobotie recipe apricot jam is used, so feel free to experiment with which you prefer. Our vote goes to mango chutney, but other types of fruit chutney will work. 
• lamb mince: we used lean lamb mince (20% fat) which is still fatty enough to produce a perfectly moist and succulent South African Meatloaf. Any fattier and you'll end up with a greasy bobotie, but extra lean lamb mince (5-10% fat) will produce a drier, less tender meatloaf. You may also use beef mince. 
• dried apricots
• golden raisins or sultanas
• flaked almonds: added for texture. You may chop up some almonds, or simply skip the nuts altogether if you have allergies. 
• large apple: sweet or tangy! We used Braeburns in this particular version. Some people we know make this delicious recipe with pears and even slices of banana. 
• yoghurt: natural or Greek yoghurt. 
• eggs: use medium eggs in the UK, or large if you are in the US.
• bay leaves. 

You will also need some rice, turmeric, tomatoes, red onion and coriander for the South African Yellow Rice and Tomato & Onion Sambal.

Find the quantities, full method and nutrient information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. 

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Step-By-Step Method

Step 1: Make Lamb Bobotie Meat Mixture

Cut the crusts off your bread. Place it in a large bowl and pour the milk all over it. Soak bread for 20 minutes. Tear it into small pieces once soaked, and discard the remaining milk (no need to squeeze out excess moisture from the bread). 

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil on low heat on the stove top in a large frying pan and add the onions and garlic. Sautee for 8-10 minutes until the onion has softened and just starting to brown.

Add the curry spices, turmeric, ginger, cumin, coriander, ginger,  mango chutney (or apricot jam) and lemon juice to the onion mixture. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then spoon the mixture out into a bowl.

Return the pan to the hob, add the lamb mince and cook until brown over medium heat. 

Add the onion mix back to the pan with the lamb alongside the milk-soaked bread, raisins and apricots. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Spoon half of the ground meat mixture into an ovenproof casserole dish. Then cover the surface with apple slices.

Sprinkle with almond flakes (if using) and top with the other half of the lamb mixture. Leave it to cool slightly, whilst you make the custard topping.

Step 2: Make the Custard Topping

In a bowl, beat yoghurt and eggs with some salt and black pepper. Pour the beaten egg mixture over the lamb bobotie and add a bay leaf on top.

Step 3: Bake Lamb Bobotie

Place South African Bobotie in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes. It should be cooked and tender and the top should be golden brown. You may want to cover the dish with a large sheet of foil midway through if the bobotie is browning too quickly.

What to Serve with Bobotie?

We personally like to keep things traditional yet simple! The best side dishes for a traditional South African bobotie, in our opinion, are easy Turmeric Yellow Rice and Tomato Sambal (recipes below). We also like a good dollop of caramelised onion chutney with it all!

Make Tomato Sambal

Half the tomatoes and place them in a small bowl. Finely chop a small amount of the red onion as well as coriander (including stalks) and mix them in with the tomatoes. Add the sugar and vinegar and leave the tomato sambal in the fridge for 30 minutes, whilst the bobotie cooks.

Make South African Yellow Rice

Boil your rice following packet instructions, but add a teaspoon of turmeric and salt to the water too. It's that simple. The turmeric will give the rice that lovely blight yellow colour as well as a subtle hint of turmeric flavour. 

For more information, follow our South African Yellow Rice Recipe.

Other African Food Recipes

For other African continent-inspired recipes, have a look at:

• Nigerian Spiced Jollof Rice with Fish
• Berbere Lentils
• West African Peanut & Butternut Squash Stew