Beef Bobotie & Yellow Rice

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g lean minced beef (5% fat)
• 1 brown onion (about 150 g) + 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp mild curry powder (for the meat) + 1 tsp ground turmeric (for the rice)
• 1 apple (about 150 g)
• 60 g raisins (40 g for the meat, 20 g for the rice)
• 1 tbsp apricot jam + 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 slices of sandwich bread (about 50 g)
• 250 ml semi-skimmed milk (50 ml for the bread, 200 ml for the custard)
• 2 eggs
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 240 g basmati rice + 400 ml water
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Sauté pan
• Ovenproof dish (about 20 × 25 cm)
• Saucepan with lid
• Grater
• Whisk
• Colander

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Crumble the bread into a bowl, pour over 50 ml milk and leave to soak. Chop the onion and garlic; peel the apple and coarsely grate it.
2. Heat the oil in the sauté pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for 5 min, until soft. Add the garlic and curry powder and stir for 1 min: the spices should smell fragrant without burning (turn the heat down if they start to darken).
3. Turn the heat up to high, add the minced beef and break it up with the spatula for 5 min, until no longer pink. Add the grated apple, 40 g raisins, the jam, the vinegar and the soaked bread mashed with a fork, then season with salt and pepper.
4. Cook for another 5 min over a medium heat, stirring: the meat should be moist, neither dry nor runny, with a mild, slightly sweet-and-sour flavour. Tip into the ovenproof dish, press down and smooth the top with the back of the spoon.
5. Whisk the eggs with the remaining 200 ml milk and a pinch of salt and pepper. Gently pour this custard over the meat and lay the bay leaves flat on top. Bake for 30 to 35 min, until the custard has set (it no longer wobbles in the centre) and is lightly golden.
6. While it bakes, rinse the rice in the sieve until the water runs almost clear. Put it in the saucepan with the 400 ml water, the turmeric, 20 g raisins and a pinch of salt, then bring to the boil.
7. Cover, turn the heat down to very low and cook for 12 min without lifting the lid. Leave to stand off the heat for 5 min, still covered, then fluff up with a fork: the rice should be bright yellow with separate grains.
8. Leave the bobotie to rest for 5 min after taking it out of the oven, then remove the bay leaves, which aren't eaten. Cut into 4 portions with the spatula and serve with the yellow rice.