Bobotie Recipe

[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

It seems there are as many Bobotie recipes as there are South African mothers. Does anyone have a favourite Bobotie recipe that they would be prepared to share?

A lot of recipes use specific products ie Ina Paarman’s Garlic & Herb Seasoning or are so non-specific that they are of no use at all ie 1 tablespoon of Curry Powder. I will make the curry powder and other seasoning but don't know enough about South African cooking to capture the balance of flavours. Any information or suggestions greatly appreciated.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

I've never heard of Bobotie before. I'm just so unsophisticated. Is it kin to grits?? lol

[easyrider Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close easyrider]

It looks like quish to me. If it is a sort of quish, I would use the bisquick recipe and just add in the African ingredients. Im going to start calling my quish bobooty.

[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

I've never heard of Bobotie before. I'm just so unsophisticated. Is it kin to grits?? lol

Perhaps we are both terribly unsophisticated, I discovered Bobotie a couple of days ago at a crazy new cafe run by a couple of South African women. I like to order things I have never heard of/tried before. It was most unusual and in some ways reminded me of a 1960's/70's beef curry because it had sultanas in it and banana and apricot slices as a garnish. It was accompanied by a dish of sweet fruit chutney, green salad with a sweet and vinegary dressing and a dish of pickled green beans.

It looks like quish to me. If it is a sort of quish, I would use the bisquick recipe and just add in the African ingredients. Im going to start calling my quish bobooty.

I'm not familiar with bisquick but funnily the dish I ordered was called a Quiche Bobotie. Wiki - bobotjie, is a South African dish consisting of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. Bobotok was an Indonesian dish consisting of meat with a custard topping that was cooked in a pan of water until the egg mixture set. The part I really liked was the unusual flavouring in the ground meat and the custard made it strangely interesting, the pastry didn't really work imo, too rich, and there was too much sweetness in the whole lunch for my liking so I would like to try a more traditional form of Bobotie. There were some leaves in it too. A number of recipes suggest bay leaves or lemon leaves but I'm thinking Kaffir Lime leaves were used.

I thought we might have some South African people here or people who are familiar with South African dishes. Seems not.

I have found this recipe which sounds ok and looks pretty easy -

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/s...opping-bobotie

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

I do have a South African friend I could ask...but this dish sounds like the Greek dish moussaka. I don't care for moussaka, but my husband loves it. He says there is often a crust, then there's seasoned ground meat, eggplant, often potatoes, and then custardy bechamel on top. Not sweet. Do you know moussaka?

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

DH looked at the recipe and said no, it's nothing like moussaka. But he thinks the seasoning and the sweetness would make it not as good as moussaka!

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

I don't know quish nor bobotie....need to travel more!

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Quish is quiche.

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

Quish is quiche.

where in the world does that word come from?? Isn't quiche a french word, or is it a corrupted word from another language? The things you learn in a timeshare site!

[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

I do have a South African friend I could ask...but this dish sounds like the Greek dish moussaka. I don't care for moussaka, but my husband loves it. He says there is often a crust, then there's seasoned ground meat, eggplant, often potatoes, and then custardy bechamel on top. Not sweet. Do you know moussaka?

Yes, I love moussaka and make it often when eggplant is in season and cheap and use cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, garlic and red wine for flavouring. The Bobotie has quite a kick from the chilli, ginger and curry powder and I wonder if the quantities of raisins and apple would make it too sweet for me. We don't have sugar in our bread here so that wouldn't add to it. It is a Cape Malay recipe apparently and I have finally found a recipe for the curry powder.

Bo-Kaap Cape Malay Curry Powder

1 tablespoon clove
1/2 cup coriander seed
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
3 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
3 small dried hot red chilies, seeds and stems removed
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
1/4 cup ground cardamom
1/4 cup ground turmeric
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 curry leaves, chopped into small pieces
Directions:

Dry roast seeds in a frying pan then grind of use mortar and pestle. Add the remaining ground spices, including the chillies and the curry leaves, mix well.

Store in an airtight jar or tin for up to 6 months, in a dry, cool and dark place.

I don't know quish nor bobotie....need to travel more!

I feel blessed to have beautiful Asian cuisines on my doorstep, it is easy to be adventurous. Each area has such unique flavours and I need to ensure that all my food doesn't start to taste the same. It would be easy to use indian or indonesian or malaysian spices and curry powder but the dish is South African and the one I tried had a unique taste and a lot of appeal.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

where in the world does that word come from?? Isn't quiche a french word, or is it a corrupted word from another language? The things you learn in a timeshare site!

I think he was joking.

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

I think he was joking.

It reminds me of being in a restaurant maybe 30 years ago when the quiche craze was just beginning. We were sitting near a table of young career men in their suits, trying hard to impress each other. When the waitress came to take their order, one of them asked what is your quish today....pretty funny at the time.

[easyrider Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close easyrider]

Quish is quiche.

Or could it be keesh.