Bobotie (because it just goes with blatjang)

When you ask the average South African bloke what our national dish is – the majority will say “the braai” – but down in the Cape, the Bobotie rules supreme: spices were introduced by slaves from Indonesia and the presentation is reminiscent of English shepherd’s pie. This recipe will serve 4.

25g Butter
1 large onion, chopped
250g minced beef
250g minced pork
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2cm fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
2 tsp garam masala
1⁄2 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 gloves
3 allspice berries
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
50g dried apricots, chopped
25g flaked almonds
3 tbsp Apricot chutney
4 tbsp chopped parsley
4 bay leaves, plus extra to garnish
250ml full cream milk
3 large eggs
50g sultanas

Preheat your oven to 180˚ Celcius . Heat the butter in a saucepan and cook the onions until soft. Then set them aside. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat and fry the beef and pork without any oil, until golden brown. Remove from the heat and add the onions together with all the other ingredients except the milk and eggs. Mix well and put into a largish ovenproof dish. Using the back of a spoon, spread the mince out evenly in the bottom of your baking dish, and then press down firmly. Whisk the eggs and milk together and pour over the mince. Grill until the egg custard sets and is nicely browned and cooked. Serve hot or cold with loads of blatjang and a green salad but traditionally, it’s eaten with yellow rice. Check out below.