As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This is South African bobotie, a casserole of venison or beef with curry and a baked custard on top. Sounds odd, but it tastes amazing. And this bobotie recipe is shockingly easy to make, as spicy as you want it to be, meaty, and a touch sweet. Rich. Comforting. I’m a believer.
I know, I know. What is South African bobotie? It’s basically a beef or venison casserole. I am not normally a fan of casseroles, but this one’s different. Bobotie, pronounced buh-BOH-tee, is — amazingly — a dish with ancestry 2000 years old.
The Roman gourmand Apicius described a dish very much like a bobotie recipe in his De Re Coquinaria
called Patinam ex lacte, which consisted of meat, pine nuts, some dried fruit and herbs, baked until done, then topped with a mix of milk and eggs, which was allowed to set. That’s pretty much what bobotie is, two millennia later.
Variations on this dish remained popular in Europe all the way into the 1600s. And, as it happened, that’s when the Dutch began carving out a trading empire. And part of that empire included the Cape of Good Hope, where South Africa’s Capetown is today.
What’s up with the funky name? Also look to the old Dutch empire. Most think it has something to do with Indonesia or Malaya in Southeast Asia, where variations on the word refer to curry spices. Both places were Dutch territories back in the 1600s, and it is believed they carried this dish to Capetown when it was founded in 1652.
Southeast Asia definitely has an influence on this casserole.
What’s in South African Bobotie?
Any bobotie recipe needs curry powder (hot or mild), and one other sweet-sour thing, typically Major Grey’s or some other mango chutney, or tamarind paste. I’ve seen recipes with apricot or peach jam, too.
Mutton, beef or lamb are typically the meat of choice, but I ate it in South Africa in the 1990s made with kudu and eland, so I figured it would be fine with venison. You want it relatively lean, as the final topping of the whipped up eggs and cream adds quite a bit of richness.
My bobotie recipe includes a panade, a French term for a paste made from bread and milk; most recipes include this. You add bread to a bobotie for the same reason you would, say, a meatloaf or venison meatballs — to keep the mix tender. If you leave this out your casserole will be dry.
Some recipes include citrus leaves and raisins (mine does), and some leave them out.
How to Serve Bobotie?
I normally serve South African bobotie with rice or bread, and either a salad or some pickles. I’ve seen it served as part of a big spread with boerewors sausage, potato salad and cole slaw, green beans and the like.
You can make this bobotie recipe ahead of time and reheat it if you’d like. Covered, it will keep several days in the fridge. It does not freeze well, although you could freeze the main part of the casserole minus the topping of egg and cream.
(Not exactly what you’re looking for? Here are more recipes for deer burger or ground venison. )
Bobotie
Ingredients
- 3 slices white bread
- 2 cups milk
- 2 large onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 pounds ground venison
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons mild curry powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala, or ½ teaspoon ground clove and 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro or parsley, loosely packed
- Cayenne pepper to taste (I use 1 teaspoon)
- 2 tablespoons tamarind paste, mango chutney or peach jam
- 3 tablespoons golden raisins (optional)
- 3 citrus leaves or bay leaves
- Juice of a lemon or lime
TOPPING
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Soak the bread in 2 cups of milk.
- Cook the onions in the butter over medium heat until they’re soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle some salt over them as they cook. Add the garlic and the venison and brown well. Salt this as it cooks, too. Break apart the ground venison as it cooks so it looks like taco meat.
- When it’s pretty much browned, add the curry powder, tamarind and all the remaining spices and herbs, and the raisins if using. Cover the pan, add the lemon or lime juice, and let this cook for a few minutes.
- Squeeze out the milk from the bread and mash it into the mixture. Turn off the heat. Move the mix into a casserole dish and press it down well.
- Beat the eggs and cream together and pour over the casserole. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the egg mixture is set and turning golden.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
OMG! This was fantastic! I had some wild mystery meat in the freezer, probably ground elk or deer. I only had a pound, so mixed a pound of turkey with it. Did the rest of the recipe the same as you but omitted the raisins as the man of the house can’t tolerate those. Also had to sub the tamarind with a mango peach jam (that’s all I could find in our tiny town). Seriously, so good it went to one of the top 3 dinners at this house. Served it with mashed potatoes. It will definitely be in the rotation at our house.
Made this tonight for the first, but certainly not the last time. Followed the recipe exactly as written with Penzey’s Maharaja curry and Penzey’s Garam Masala. Used the full teaspoon of cayenne and dried Thai lime leaves. I plumped the golden raisins in very hot water before adding to the pot. Served with creamy cucumbers and naan. Absolutely delicious!
Wow! I just made this for the family and it was a huge success! By far one of my favorite ground venison recipes ever. I served over basmati rice and it was perfect. I would recommend adding the cayenne for a small kick. Can’t wait to try other recipes from the book.
Absolutely love this dish. Exotic yet comforting all at the same time.
While we’ve made this many times, the most memorable was making it for a video while my wife and I were part of a focus group for the new Ninja Combi. We both ended up being chosen for the infomercial, and a crew came to our house to film us making bobotie. We made enough for the entire crew and they loved it! Unfortunately none of the bobotie scenes made it into the final cut but you may see my wife and I if you are watching infomercials late some night.
Hank this looks super intriguing! We have a Celiac person in our house..any brilliant ideas for a bread substitute? I could use gluten free bread, but that rice flour can be pretty mealy when moistened. Any ideas? Thank you!
L Victor: I’d try the gluten free bread.
Have made this several times now at my Bride’s request. A simple yet delicious recipe. A great balance between the savory, sweet and curry make this a fun and easy dinner!
Great Recipe. Having lived in South Africa for many years this recipe is as good as it gets. Very close to the cape maylaysan recipe is that I have.I am back in Germany and this is my friends favourite dish when I make it.
I will first admit that I have not made Bobotie from this recipe yet, but as a frequent traveler to Cape Town, I can already tell that it’ll be spot on – as much as possible since Bobotie is sort of like “meatloaf” in the U.S., every home has its own method, yet it’s still all the same. Cooler weather coming to the Gulf Coast soon, it is already on a weekend menu.
Another great recipe from Hank Shaw. I wanted a dish with ground venison but not tomato-y or cottage pie and settled on Bobatie. I even had tamarind sauce in fridge.
Recipe is easy to follow and has a lot of good flavours.
Great recipe. I have made it with both venison and beef, and with tamarind paste and mango chutney (after I ran out of tamarind paste and it was easier to find mango chutney). All versions have been delicious.