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What is Bobotie?

Bobotie is a traditional South African casserole. There are a few key elements that define this dish:

A sweet, savory, spicy filling that is bound with bread soaked in milk. Traditionally, this filling is made with ground beef or lamb. The spice mix will have a generous amounts of cinnamon and turmeric. The sweetness generally comes from jam and chutney, although my recipe also includes apples.

This filling is bound together with bread soaked in milk. This gives the filling a slightly creamy texture, and prevents the topping from soaking into the filling.

Lastly, the dish traditionally topped with a savory custard and is decorated with bay leaves

How to make a healthy, plant based bobotie?

I found this dish pretty easy to adapt, since there are so many components that add flavour to the dish that replacing the meat doesn’t affect the flavour that much. I’ve replaced the ground beef with a lentil and walnut combination. The topping was a bit trickier. I considered a blended tofu based topping, but for this version I decided on a fluffy chickpea flour batter, flavored with turmeric. It is visually spot on, and it brings the dish together in terms of flavour and texture. I also used an all fruit apricot jam.

In my family, Bobotie is served with a yellow rice, simple tomato and onion sambal, toasted coconut, fresh sliced banana, and Mrs Ball’s chutney. I can really recommend going for the full spread.