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South African Bobotie in a white casserole dish with a portion served on a plate with yellow rice.

South African Bobotie with Yellow Rice and Sambal

South Africa’s treasure, often called the national dish, Bobotie has a perfect balance of spice and sweetness. South African Bobotie 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 turmeric yellow rice and sambals as side dishes. Utterly delicious, this mildly spiced and unusually sweet meat dish is definitely a must-try!
4.77 from 13 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine South African
Servings 4 servings
Calories 662 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

For the Bobotie:

  • 1 large slice of bread
  • 60 ml milk
  • 1 brown onion finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoon curry powder medium
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon coriander
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ginger
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp apricot jam or mango chutney
  • 500 g lamb mince lean
  • 25 g dried apricots roughly chopped
  • 25 g raisins or sultanas
  • 25 g flaked almonds
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 large apple thinly sliced
  • 200 ml yoghurt
  • 2 eggs medium

For the Yellow Rice:

  • 240 g long-grain or basmati rice
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For Sambal:

  • 200 g cherry tomatoes halved
  • ⅛ red onion finely chopped
  • 5 g fresh coriander roughly chopped
  • ½ tsp caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar white wine or apple cider

Instructions
 

To Make Bobotie:

  • Cut the crust off your bread. Place it in a shallow bowl and pour the milk all over it. Leave it to soak for 20 minutes. Tear it into small pieces once soaked.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon of oil on low heat 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 powder, turmeric, ginger, cumin, coriander, ginger, apricot jam (or mango chutney) and lemon juice. 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.
  • Add the onion mix back to the pan with the lamb alongside the bread, raisins and apricots. Cook for a couple of minutes. Taste and season to taste.
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Spoon half of the mixture into an ovenproof dish. Then cover the surface with apple slices. Sprinkle with almond flakes and top with the other half of the lamb mixture. Leave it to cool slightly, whilst you make the topping.
  • In a bowl, beat yogurt and eggs with some salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the meat and add a bay leaf on top.
  • Place in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes. You may want to cover the dish with a large sheet of foil midway through if the bobotie is browning too much.

Make Tomato Sambal:

  • Mix all the ingredients together and leave for 30 minutes in the fridge, whilst the bobotie cooks.

Make Yellow Rice:

  • Boil your rice following packet instructions, but add a teaspoon of turmeric and salt to the water too.
  • Serve your bobotie, yellow rice and tomato sambal with some red onion or chakalaka chutney!

Nutrition

Calories: 662kcalCarbohydrates: 92gProtein: 40gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 167mgSodium: 194mgPotassium: 1057mgFiber: 5gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 724IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 177mgIron: 6mg
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