isithalal.food · Recipes

Halal bobotie

Cape Malay bobotie made with Halal beef mince: curried mince with chutney, sultanas and bay under a baked egg-and-milk topping, with no wine or brandy.

South African · Main · Easy · 1 baking dish, 23 × 33 cm · 70 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

Bobotie is curried mince, so it is only Halal with Halal-slaughtered beef or lamb; pork mince is Haram, and a few recipes add wine or brandy to the meat.

Halal-critical ingredients

• The mince: Beef or lamb mince is only Halal from Halal-slaughtered animals, and pork mince is Haram. Buy mince from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. In restaurants or ready meals, ask which meat it is and whether it is Halal. See Bobotie and Beef.
• Wine or brandy in other recipes: This recipe has none, but some bobotie recipes add wine or brandy to the mince. When eating out, ask whether wine or brandy went into the meat. See Bobotie.
• Curry paste and chutney: Jarred pastes and chutneys are bought products with their own ingredient lists. Read the labels for alcohol or animal ingredients, or use a Halal-marked jar.

Ingredients

Mince

• 2 slices white bread
• 2 onions, chopped
• 25 g butter
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 kg lean Halal beef mince
• 2 tbsp Madras curry paste
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 3 cloves
• 5 allspice berries
• 2 tbsp peach or mango chutney
• 3 tbsp sultanas
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt

Topping

• 300 ml full-cream milk
• 2 large eggs
• 4 bay leaves

Method

1. Soak the bread. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Pour cold water over the bread and set it aside to soak.
2. Cook the mince. Fry the onions in the butter, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes until soft and starting to colour. Add the garlic and Halal beef and stir well, breaking the mince into fine grains until it changes colour. Stir in the curry paste, herbs, cloves, allspice, chutney, sultanas and 2 of the bay leaves with the salt and plenty of black pepper.
3. Simmer and add the bread. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Squeeze the water from the bread and beat it into the mince until well blended. Tip into an oval ovenproof dish about 23 × 33 cm and 5 to 6 cm deep, press it down and smooth the top. You can make it to this point a day ahead and chill it.
4. Top and bake. Beat the milk and eggs with a little seasoning and pour over the meat. Lay the remaining 4 bay leaves on top and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the topping is set and starting to turn golden.

Allergens

gluten (bread), egg, milk

How this recipe was researched

Method from BBC Good Food's 'Bobotie' by Sara Buenfeld (serves 6: 1 kg lean beef mince fried with onions in 25 g butter, garlic, 2 tbsp Madras curry paste, mixed herbs, cloves, allspice, chutney, sultanas and bay; simmered 10 minutes, then bread soaked in water beaten in; topped with 300 ml milk beaten with 2 eggs and baked at 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 for 35 to 40 minutes). The source has no alcohol; we specify Halal beef mince and say to check the curry paste and chutney labels. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph from our ingredient library: bobotie served in a restaurant, not the finished dish from this recipe.