Gourmet Recipe: South African Bobotie

 

This is a traditional South African recipe and date back to the 1600’s. In 1652, the Dutch East India Company of Holland established a refreshment station for its many ships sailing past the most southern tip of Africa, Table Bay to and from India. The seafarers had been awestruck by the magnificence of the mountains of the Cape Peninsula and for nearly two centuries Table Bay was used as a refreshment and repair stop by passing European ships.

In 1657, the Dutch East India Company brought slaves from the Far East to work in the vegetable gardens. Slaves from Malaysia brought with them their culinary knowledge and expertise, as well as their spices. And so started a tradition of Cape Malay dishes, born in South Africa. One of their specialties was Bobotie.

Bobotie is a Malay improvement on shepherd's pie, with a good deal of the spice cupboard mixed with the mince - cumin, coriander, turmeric, allspice, even chutney, almonds and sultanas as well as garlic and peppercorns - plus a masala that includes dried chillies, peppercorns, ground ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods, with a savoury custard instead of mashed potatoes on top.

I grew up with this dish and my grandmother and mother were experts in making this dish. Today, this is a permanent fixture on the menu in my house. I gladly share this recipe with you.

It is quick and easy to make and can be served with rice, coconut, chutney and a mixed salad.

Ingredients

·       *  3 tablespoons butter

·        * 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

·         *2 medium sized onions, coarsely cut

·        * 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

·         *2 tablespoons curry powder

·        * 1 teaspoon turmeric

·         *2 oz. (1/2 cup) almonds, shredded

·         *4 oz. (2/3 cup) sultanas or raisins

·         *1 teaspoon mixed herbs

·        * 1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed

·         *1 teaspoon salt

·      *   1 tablespoon brown sugar

·         *1 tablespoon wine vinegar

·         *2 lb. lean mincemeat, lightly browned beforehand

·      *   3 thick slices white bread

·        * 10 fl. Oz. (1 1/4 cup) milk

·        * 2 eggs, lightly beaten

·       *  1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground

Instructions

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 ⁰F (180 ⁰C). Grease a deep pie dish with 1/2 tablespoon butter.

2.    In a small frying pan, melt the remaining butter and add the oil. When the foam subsides, add the onions and garlic and fry, over moderate heat, for about 5 minutes or until the onions are lightly browned.

3.    Remove the onions and garlic from the pan and place them in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the curry powder and turmeric over the mixture and add the almonds, sultanas (raisins), mixed herbs, lemon juice, salt, sugar, vinegar, pepper and meat. Mix well with a wooden spoon.

4.    Soak the bread in the milk. Squeeze the milk from the bread and mash the bread into the meat mixture together with one beaten egg. Turn the mixture into the buttered pie dish and press it down with the back of a spoon.

5.    If necessary, add a little milk to the milk squeezed from the bread to make up 6 fluid ounces (3/4 cup).

6.    Beat the remaining egg into the milk with a whisk. Pour the milk-and-egg mixture over the meat in the pie dish. Stand the pie dish in a pan of water and bake for about 1 hour, or until the top of the Bobotie is light golden brown and firm to the touch.

ENJOY!!!

 

Danie de Villiers

Herbs and Spices

In almost all households we use herbs and spices everyday in preparing our food or even for medicinal purposes.

Ever though about what the difference is between herbs and spices?

 It’s simple really.

Herbs come from the leaves of plants while spices come from the stems, seeds, roots, and bark. Interesting, some plants are used as both herbs and spices, for instance, the leaves of the coriander plant are used as a herb and the seeds as a spice.

According to a research done by the California University of Ayurveda, coriander seeds are quite effective in curing different skin ailments like eczema, itchy skin, rashes and inflammation as they have antiseptic properties. They are known to cure mouth ulcers and sores as well. The seeds contain linoleic acid that also has pain relieving properties to diminish irritation.

Whether the recipe calls for herbs or spices;  use these palate-pleasing plants in your everyday cooking!

History of the fiery hot chilli

The origin of the fiery hot chilli is South American and as such was entirely unknown in most of the world before the first contact with the Americas by Europeans around 1500.

Chilli was first domesticated in Mexico about 8000 years ago, one of the first self-pollinating crops developed in the Americas. Christopher Columbus was one of the first Europeans to consume one, and thought they were a pepper.

There are several stories of scientists, monks and cooks in Europe having unfortunately fiery experiences experimenting with the extraordinary spice brought back to the Old World.

In 1510, Portugal, then a major world power, established one of the first European permanent settlements in India at Goa and soon after, brought the chilli to India. Almost immediately, the remarkably fiery spice spread throughout India, which became the world’s largest producer and consumer of chilli.

Prior to the introduction of chilli, Indian cuisines were heavily flavoured with black pepper, and Indian food appears to have been very spicy even then. In fact, linguistic evidence shows that Indians, like Columbus, drew few distinctions between the two spices with a number of languages using variants around the word “mirch,” which usually denotes chilli now, for both spices.

After this, chilli began to spread throughout Asia, deep into the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as China and Indochina, becoming a major aspect of most Asian cuisines.

The arrival of migrant communities in Europe and North and South America completed the rise of the chilli in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Danie