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Bobotie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bobotie is a South African dish consisting of spiced, minced meat baked with a custard topping. The recipe probably originates from the Dutch East India Company colonies in Batavia, with the name derived from the Indonesian Bobotok.
It is a dish of some antiquity: it has certainly been known in the Cape of Good Hope since the 17th century, when it was made with a mixture of mutton and pork. Today it is much more likely to be made with beef or lamb, although pork lends the dish extra moistness. Early recipes incorporated ginger, marjoram and lemon rind; the invention of curry powder has simplified the recipe somewhat but the basic concept remains the same. Traditionally, bobotie incorporates dried fruit like raisins or sultanas, but the sweetness that they lend is not to everybody's taste. It is often garnished with peanuts, chutney and bananas.
Although not particularly spicy, the dish incorporates a variety of flavours that add complexity to the dish. For example, the dried fruit (usually apricots and raisins/sultanas) contrasts the curry flavouring very nicely. The texture of the dish is also complex, with the baked egg custard on the top complementing the milk-soaked bread which adds moisture to the dish.
Bobotie was transported by South African settlers to colonies all over Africa: today, recipes for it can be found that originated in white settler communities in Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. There is a variation that was popular among the 7,000 Boer settlers who settled in the Chubut River Valley in Argentina in the early 20th century, in which the bobotie mixture is packed inside a large pumpkin, which is then baked until tender.
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