Lentil Bobotie is a delicious vegetarian version of the classic South African dish
Bobotie is one of the most famous South African dishes, both in South Africa and around the world. Traditionally, it is made of spiced, sweetened minced or shredded meat, topped with a savoury custard. Bobotie is a typical example of South African Cape Malay style cooking. It has influences from traditional Dutch cuisine, as well as the spicy style of food cooked by slaves brought over from Indonesia and Java. It is said that bobotie was a typical Monday dish, made to use up all the meat leftover from a Sunday roast. This lentil bobotie is a tasty and healthy vegetarian version of the classic dish. Lentils give a lovely nutty texture as well as being a great base for absorbing all the wonderful flavours.
What makes the lentil bobotie traditional
There are a few ingredients that are essential in order to create the unique spicy sweet flavours of a bobotie. A good curry powder is a must – it should be very fresh with a good kick to it. You will probably be surprised to find that apricot jam and chutney are key ingredients in a bobotie. They add an irresistible sweet twist. Apricot jam and chutney are very popular in general in South African cuisine. A particularly famous combination, is braai (BBQ) snoek (a South African fish) with apricot jam. Many bobotie recipes call for the addition of bread soaked in milk. I prefer not to add this to my lentil bobotie, as I find it can make the lentils a little heavy and soggy. It also dilutes their flavour. To give your bobotie a traditional look, garnish the top with some lemon or bay leaves.
Don’t skip the yellow rice and sambals
If you want to keep things traditional, serve your lentil bobotie with yellow rice and sambals. The yellow rice gets its lovely bright colour from turmeric. It usually also has some raisins added for sweetness, as well typical ‘dessert’ spices such as cinnamon and cardamom. There are lots of different sambals that go well with bobotie. Pineapple and cucumber are popular options, but my particular favourites are tomato salsa and bananas in yoghurt. And don’t forget, always serve an extra bowl of chutney on the side!
Lentil Bobotie with Yellow Rice and Tomato and Banana Sambals
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Ingredients
- LENTILS:
- 250g brown lentils
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 clove garlic
- FILLING:
- 1 ½ tbsp. olive oil
- 1 ½ tbsp. butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and grated
- 1 stick celery, diced
- 1 apple, peeled and grated
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tsps. ginger, peeled and minced
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ½ tbsp. curry powder
- 2 tbsp. sweet chutney (I used Mrs. Balls Chutney)
- 1 tbsp. apricot jam
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. red or white wine vinegar
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. salt, plus more as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 60ml sultanas or raisins
- ½ egg, whisked
- 15g flaked almonds
- CUSTARD TOPPING:
- 1 ½ eggs
- 75ml milk
- 75ml yoghurt
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ⅛ tsp. turmeric
- 4-6 bay leaves
- YELLOW RICE:
- 1 cup brown or white basmati rice (white is traditional, but I prefer healthier brown rice)
- 2 cups water
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 cardamom
- 1 tsp. turmeric
- ¼ tsp. light muscovado sugar
- 60ml raisins or sultanas
- 15g butter
- TOMATO SAMBAL:
- 100g Rosa tomatoes, quartered
- 1 small onion or ½ a medium onion, diced
- 2 tsps. white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- A pinch of sugar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- BANANA SAMBAL:
- 2 medium bananas, sliced at an angle
- 3 tbsps. yoghurt
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- TO SERVE:
- Chutney
Instructions
LENTILS:
- Pick out any stones or dirt from the lentils, then rinse them with cold water. Place them in a pot and cover generously with cold water.
- Add the thyme and bay leaf to the pot. Squash the garlic with the ball of your hand on a chef’s knife, and add it to the pot. Bring the lentils up to the boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook them until they are al dente. This will take approximately 20-30 minutes. Strain, pick out the thyme, bay leaf and garlic, and set them aside.
FILLING:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
- In a large deep frying pan, heat the olive oil and butter over a medium heat.
- Add the onion, carrot and celery, and sweat until soft and starting to turn light golden. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Add the apple, garlic, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, chillies and bay leaf, and gently fry for a further 5 minutes.
- Add the curry powder, chutney, apricot jam, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, turmeric, coriander and cumin. Add the salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
- Stir through the raisins and cooked lentils. Taste and add more chutney or apricot jam for sweetness, more vinegar for acidity or more salt and freshly ground black pepper to season.
- Add the egg and gently mix to combine.
- Spread the lentil mixture at the base of an approximately 26cm long rectangular ceramic baking dish. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds.
CUSTARD TOPPING:
- Place a deep roasting tray in the oven, and fill it about 2cm deep with boiling water.
- Whisk the eggs in a jug, and then whisk in the yoghurt and then the milk. Add the salt and turmeric and whisk to combine.
- Pour the custard over the lentil base, and place the bay leaves on top.
- Place it in the bain marie (the tray with water in the oven), and cook for approximately 45 minutes, until the custard is set and golden on top. You might need to add more water to the tray during the cooking process.
YELLOW RICE:
- Wash the rice well, until the water runs clear. Soak it in cold water for 15 minutes.
- Drain the rice, and then place it in a pot with the water. Add the salt, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, turmeric and sugar. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the raisins. Check how cooked the rice is, and if the pot is dry and the rice crunchy, add a little more water. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the rice is just cooked and fluffy. Remove from the heat, add the butter, cover the pot with a clean dishcloth and replace the lid.
- Fluff up the rice using a fork.
TOMATO SAMBAL:
- Place the tomatoes, onion, vinegar and coriander in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir through to mix.
BANANA SAMBAL:
- Peel and slice the banana thinly. Gently stir through the yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with a little salt.
TO SERVE:
- Serve the bobotie with yellow rice, extra chutney on the side, tomato and banana sambals.
