Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Cape Malay · South African

Bobotie

Non-vegetarian

Gently curried minced beef with fruit, raisins and soaked bread, baked under a golden savoury egg custard with bay leaves. A Cape Malay classic and South African family favourite.

Bobotie is a Cape Malay bake from South Africa, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with curry powder and ground beef. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Bobotie
Photo: Olga Ernst / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
55 min
Rest
10 min
Total
1 h 25 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
480

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 180 °C. Soak the bread in about 100 ml of the milk (opens in a new tab).

  2. Step 2

    Melt the butter (opens in a new tab) with the oil and cook the onions (opens in a new tab) until soft and golden. Add the garlic (opens in a new tab), curry powder (opens in a new tab) and turmeric (opens in a new tab) and fry for a minute.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until no longer pink. Squeeze the bread (keep the milk (opens in a new tab)), crumble it in, and stir in the jam (opens in a new tab), raisins (opens in a new tab), lemon juice (opens in a new tab) and salt. Cook 5 minutes more.

    • 12 min
    • medium heat

  4. Step 4

    Spread the mixture in a baking dish (opens in a new tab) and smooth the top. Bake for 10 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Whisk the eggs (opens in a new tab) with all the remaining milk (opens in a new tab) (including the soaking milk). Pour over the meat, tuck in the bay leaves (opens in a new tab), scatter with almonds (opens in a new tab) if using, and bake until the custard is set and golden.

    • 25 min
    • 180°C

    Food safety: Bake until the custard is fully set in the centre.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  6. Step 6

    Rest for 10 minutes before serving. Remove the bay leaves (opens in a new tab) as you serve.

    • 10 min

About this dish

Origin
Western Cape, South Africa · Commonly attributedStrongly associated with the Cape Malay community of Cape Town.More food from South Africa
Dish
Dinner · Casseroles & bakes · Main courses
Cooking method
Oven-baked, Sautéed
Taste
sweet & savoury, aromatic / warmly spiced, mild, creamy
Diet
High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Without the optional extras: No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Child-friendly · Uses leftovers
Cook more with
Curry powder · Ground beef · White bread · Milk · Butter · Onion
Techniques
Baking · Sautéing

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom white bread, milk, butter
  • Contains: Eggsfrom white bread, egg
  • Contains, can be adapted: Tree nutsfrom almonds
  • Contains: Wheatfrom white bread
  • Contains: Glutenfrom white bread
  • May contain: Soyfrom white bread
  • May contain: Sesamefrom white bread
  • May contain: Mustardfrom curry powder
  • May contain: Celeryfrom curry powder
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom raisins

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

480 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 277 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 26%
  • Carbohydrate 20%
  • Fat 54%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy480 kcal173 kcal
Protein31.3 g11.3 g
Carbohydrate23.7 g8.5 g
Net carbohydrate21.1 g7.6 g
Sugars13.1 g4.7 g
Added sugars——
Fibre2.6 g0.9 g
Fat28.7 g10.3 g
Saturated fat10.7 g3.9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol193 mg70 mg
Sodium793 mg286 mg
Salt equivalent2 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
664 mg
Calcium
127 mg
Iron
4.6 mg
Magnesium
48 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
82 µg
Vitamin C
6 mg
Vitamin D
1.2 µg
Vitamin B12
3.3 µg
Folate (DFE)
49 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: almonds.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Taste the mince before baking — it should be pleasantly sweet-sour and mildly spiced.

Common mistakes

  • Pouring the custard onto hot, wet mince — the brief pre-bake firms the top so the custard sits on it rather than sinking.

Serve with

  • Serve with turmeric yellow rice (geelrys), chutney and a sambal of tomato and onion.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months.

Reheating

  • Reheat covered at 170 °C until hot throughout.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 5

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like