Confusing a bobotie with paella, a rookie error that turned out to be delicious

It’s not paella. (Photos Ray Mahlaka | collage Tony Jackman)

By Ray Mahlaka

16 Aug 2024

I confused a bobotie with paella, which I have made and tasted before. Confusing a bobotie with paella is not even a rookie error, but something far worse. A bobotie is simple to make, I later found out.

I have been on a restrictive eating plan over the past eight months, which has yielded great results on my waistline.

Over this period, I have lost 15kg by cutting out refined sugars, bread, alcohol, and other carbohydrates, which are stupidly considered to be bad but, in reality, pack lots of nutritional value.

When my endearing friend, Tony Jackman, suggests a recipe to make for my weekly food musings, I get nervous. I fear that he will suggest a recipe that is hearty and goes against my restrictive diet. I don’t have the courage to shoot down his recipe suggestions, which often involve well-loved South African dishes.

Shooting them down would be tantamount to treason and me being unpatriotic. And you, dear readers, would probably hunt me down with pitchforks. Without hesitation, I set my restrictive diet aside and acquiesced to Jackman’s suggestion of making a bobotie (pronounced ba-bo-tea). I was in trouble.

Although I have heard of bobotie before, I have not tasted or made it, which is deserving of my South African citizenship being revoked. In a text message to Jackman when he floated the idea of making a bobotie or a peppermint crisp tart, I stupidly said: “I think I’ll settle for (a) bobotie. I‘ve made it before and (it) should be something simple to make, methinks.” This was a bald-face lie as I confused a bobotie with paella, which I have made and tasted before. Confusing a bobotie with paella is not even a rookie error, but something far worse.

In hindsight, there was a little bit of truth in what I told Jackman. A bobotie is simple to make, I later found out. Bobotie is a classic dish in South Africa, which can be made with ground beef or lamb. I think of bobotie as a South African version of shepherd’s pie with a twist or two. Both bobotie and shepherd’s pie are baked, but the difference is that the former is covered with an egg-based topping and the latter with mashed potato.

I’m a bit hesitant to delve into the history of bobotie. So this is where you come in, Daily Maverick readers, as you are smarter and more engaged than me. Correct me in the comment section if I have my history wrong. As my limited understanding of culinary history goes, Dutch and English settlers introduced sausages and bobotie in the Cape and the Malays made it their own. But that’s a contentious issue, as a similar dish was recorded in Indonesia and had a custard topping.

Apparently, the first bobotie-recorded recipe was in a Dutch cookbook in the 1600s. So, the Dutch were the first to put the bobotie recipe in a cookbook, also claiming the introduction of this recipe to South Africa.

In the end, I was grateful for Jackman’s bobotie recommendation. It turned out to be delicious; the overall dish was sweet with a hint of savoury. It was worth putting my restrictive diet aside.

Ingredients

It’s not paella. (Photos Ray Mahlaka | collage Tony Jackman)

(Serves 2. Double or triple the ingredients if you want to serve more people)

1kg ground beef or lamb

1 slice of bread (it can be brown or white)

1 cup milk

1 cup water

4 Tbsp oil

1 sliced red onion

2 grated carrots

1 Tbsp crushed garlic

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 Tbsp mixed herbs

1 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp parsley

1 Tbsp chilli powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 Tbsp fruit chutney (Mrs HS Balls Original chutney is the best)

1 Tbsp apricot jam

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp turmeric

6 Tbsp raisins (or use sultanas if you find raisins to be too sweet)

1 egg

bay leaves

Method

First off, soak the bread in milk and set aside.

In a pan, fry an onion and grated carrots until soft. To the onion and carrot mixture, add all spices (crushed garlic, curry powder, salt, chilli powder, turmeric, mixed herbs, parsley and paprika). As usual, I am very experimental with spices and throw in whatever is available in my pantry.

In the spiced onion and carrot mixture, add ground beef or lamb and fry until brown. Then add chutney, apricot jam, Worcestershire sauce, and a cup of water. Mix well together.

Drain the milk from the soaked bread (keep the drained milk) and mash the bread. Then add the mashed bread to the pan together with mince. Add raisins or sultanas.

Cook over a low-to-medium heat, stirring, until the meat is cooked. Then remove it from the stove and transfer into a casserole dish. I don’t own a casserole dish so I used a baking pan lined with foil.

In a bowl, beat the egg and leftover drained milk and pour over the meat mixture in the casserole dish or baking pan. Put a few bay leaves on top. Bake uncovered at 180°C for approximately 30 mins or until set (nicely browned). Serve with rice. DM

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