South African Bobotie

Hi! I am from South Africa - I was born in Johannesburg where I lived until I was 15, then was fortunate enough to spend many years living in Cape Town as well. We (my husband and two kids ) moved to America in 2017.
What does this meal mean to me?  This is a family favorite that my mom would make very very often especially a lot in the winter which in South Africa is a very short period only about 90 to 100 days.  It was also one of my Dad‘s favorite meals.  What I love most about this dish is that it just gets better and better day after day and is amazing on a sandwich! 
learning to cook was not really an option in my household - family time was always in the kitchen,  - you either got to cook or clean up. I hate cleaning up, and I am very happy I opted to cook as it is to this day something I love to do!

Bobotie is a traditional South African dish that has been passed down from generation to generation, often served as a Sunday Family Lunch.  Every family has its own tweaks to the recipe, for example, my mom would add slivered almonds to the dish. As this is not loved in my home, I leave it out. However, the basics remain the same and the tradition continues.  Although a warm hearty dish best eaten in winter, we serve this dish all year round.  It is loved not only for its amazing flavors, but it is one of those dishes that just gets better day after day.  It even tastes great on a sandwich!  A family staple in our household! My son is not a fan of the egg in the dish so often I will leave this step off, and to be honest it is still just as good!

Ingredients:
•       3 slices of bread, white or whole wheat
•       2 onions, chopped
•       25g butter
•       2 garlic cloves, crushed
•       2 T. curry powder
•       3 – 5 bay leaves
•       30g dried apricots finely chopped
•       2 T. peach or mango chutney (available at            Apna Bazaar)
•       3 T raisins
•       45 ml Turmeric
•       1 red apple, peeled and grated
•       1 lemon squeezed (optional)
•       1kg  packet lean minced beef

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For topping:

• 300 ml full cream milk or 1 tin coconut milk
• 2 large eggs

1.  Heat oven to 350F (180C)
   
2. Fry the onions in the butter and garlic, stirring regularly for 10 mins until they are soft and starting to color. Add the beef and brown meat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. In a separate bowl break up the bread and add approximately 100ml of milk, add curry powder, dried apricots, raisins, chutney, turmeric, grated apple, and mix.  (I squeeze in a little lemon as this dish can quickly become very sweet). Add this all to the meat and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes for flavors to develop.
   
4. Tip into an oval ovenproof dish (23 x 33cm and about 5-6cm deep). Press the mixture down well and smooth the top. You can make this and chill 1 day ahead.  This dish really is better the next day! If you decide to make it a day ahead stop here and refrigerate.
   
5. For the topping, beat the milk and eggs with seasoning, then pour over the meat.  Poke small holes into the meat for some of the mixture to soak through.  I push the bay leaves into the meat. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the topping is set and starting to turn golden.

Serve this dish with yellow rice and raisins (simply cook rice and add 1 tsp. of turmeric and a handful of raisins to the water) or with white rice. It is delicious with tomato and onion sambals as well.