Bobotie two ways-with a hint of christmas spirit

Bobotie Two ways- with a hint of Christmas spirit

Two weeks to go till Christmas. Whooo hooo or more like ho, ho ho right!! Like I said in my previous post, j'aime Noël! (I like christmas) Because there is a vibe, a homey vibe wherever you go! People are out buying gifts, which could be irritating when you are doing the same thing but non the less, you go anyway, because why would anyone buy a Christmas gift any other time of the year then when there are sales like buy one get one free or 20-30% discount. I know that all of this is a sales strategy to get people buying more, but it's more that that. For me it's about looking for something specific for a specific someone. I am all about detail!

For some it's just something to get over and for others it's a yearly enjoyable ritual. That's also great, because we all have to be different. Imagine getting detailed specific gifts when you're a no fuss person or having to give specific gifts to very fussy people. Can I say, exhausting and also missing the point!! It is just too much thinking going around for one day of the year where you can just enjoy your family.

Well, I had such experience this week... I was walking in an overcrowded mall with my husband. We both did not have the tolerability to shop that day, but just by walking around all this christmas spirit made us excited. The Christmas markets are selling churros, gluwine, crêpes and other things that you don't need like christmas onesies. I realised that I do need one, for our family christmas cards one day...Just for the heck of it anyway! Christmas jingles are playing and no matter how irritating and catchy the tune is, you join in singing! Funny, isn't it all, but j'aime anyway! It takes a bit of the stress away... enjoying the silly things!

We also have discussed our Christmas menu for our mostly Afrikaans Christmas dinner and man oh man, it's gonna be good. All the kinds of yummy comfort food that we are used to eating back home. Freshly baked bread, pumpkin fritters, green beans salad, Leg of lamb, Whole chicken, decadent chocolate pudding and malva pudding. There are a few more on that list... With comfort being a big thing in winter makes me miss home even more. I like too cook the "favorites" every now and then and add my own twist to it. I guess I would never have made them if I was not living overseas, but you tend to gravitate back to what you know and comforts you. I experimented with a dish called Bobotie. It is not a traditional Christmas dish, but makes a great dinner and Sunday lunch!

It is a curry savory mince meat dish traditionally served with yellow rice and raisins. I like to serve mine with a tomato chutney, banana, and shredded coconut. I additionally add some cooked butternut cubes, lentils or almond flour. The traditional recipes have a slice of bread soaked in milk in it to make it a bit more "solid", but I find that those ingredients can be easily replaced.

My husband is more a carb lover in our family so I made a filo pastry bobotie pie for him and a deconstructed bobotie for me. Both are delicious, depending on what you like. This dish has a bit of a sweet tang to it, because I make a chutney beforehand and then added the mince meat, so the meat soaks up all the chutney goodness! Come on who does not like some comfort food with a hint of christmas spirit on the side!

Basic Bobotie mince recipe

500g mince meat

1 tbs coconut oil

1/2 cup apricot jam

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tsp curry (turmeric/marsala)

1/4 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 onion

2 garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

1. Place all the chutney ingredients in a pan and heat up till the onion has softened and the chutney has thickened.

2. Break apart the mince if it is sticks together and add to the chutney.

3. Cook until the mince meat is ready.

Tomato chutney

500g rosa/cherry tomatoes

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place all these ingredients in a pot on the stove and let it boil on low heat until the chutney comes together.

2. It should be sticking to the spoon ,then you know that your chutney is ready.

Deconstructed bobotie

Place the bobotie minced meat on a plate. Top off with a fried egg ( I made mine in the microwave in a plastic bowl-no mess no fuss) tomato chutney and shredded coconut. You can add a sliced banana and coconut cream if you wish.

Bobotie Pie

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup coconut cream

Melted butter/coconut oil

Filo pastry sheets

1. Layer 2-3 layers of filo pastry in a Pie pan, brush with melted butter/coconut oil.

2. Scoop out half of the bobotie mixture into the pie pan.

3. Then whisk the eggs, milk and coconut cream together, pour onto the minced meat.

4. Bake the bobotie pie for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

5. Serve with the tomato chutney, shredded coconut and sliced banana.

6. You can still make yellow rice, just add a tsp of curry spice to it when you start cooking your rice. Add in raisins when the rice has finished cooking.