Bobotie (South African Spiced Beef Bake)

Name: Bobotie (South African Spiced Beef Bake)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: South Africa
Ingredients: 2 lb ground beef; 2 onions, chopped; 2 slices white bread, soaked in 1 cup milk; 2 tbsp curry powder; 1 tbsp turmeric; 1/4 cup chutney; 2 tbsp apricot jam; 1/4 cup raisins; 3 eggs; 1 cup milk; Bay leaves

Bobotie (South African Spiced Beef Bake) photo 1

6 servings20 min prep50 min cookMedium South Africa

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The Story Behind It

The Tale of Bobotie (South African Spiced Beef Bake)

Story updated September 17, 2026

Bobotie, a spiced, curried mince bake topped with an egg custard, traces back to the Cape Malay community—descendants of Javanese and other Southeast Asian people enslaved by the Dutch East India Company and brought to the Cape in the 17th century. Adapting to ingredients available there, these cooks blended Indonesian spicing with European technique, and bobotie is now widely considered South Africa's national dish.

Ingredients

Scale:· 6 servings

2 lb ground beef
2 onions, chopped
2 slices white bread, soaked in 1 cup milk
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp turmeric
1/4 cup chutney
2 tbsp apricot jam
1/4 cup raisins
3 eggs
1 cup milk
Bay leaves

Instructions

1Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2Sauté onions in a large pan until soft, then add curry powder and turmeric and cook 2 minutes.
3Add ground beef and brown thoroughly, breaking it up as it cooks.
4Squeeze out the soaked bread and mash it into the meat along with chutney, apricot jam, and raisins.
5Season with salt and transfer to a greased baking dish, pressing flat and pushing bay leaves into the top.
6Whisk eggs with the remaining 1 cup milk and pour evenly over the meat mixture.
7Bake 30-35 minutes until the custard topping is set and golden.
8Serve with yellow rice.

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