This is one of the national dishes of South Africa. You can make bobotie with any ground meat, but I typically use deer burger. You can make this as spicy or mild as you want. It reheats well, too, and will keep in the fridge for a week.
Recipe by Hank Shaw on November 6, 2017
Prep time: PT20M
Cook time: PT60M
Total time: PT110M
Rating
4.94 stars (31 reviews)
Keywords
casseroles, curry, elk, venison
Ingredients
3 slices white bread
2 cups milk
2 large onions, (chopped (about 3 cups))
3 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, (chopped)
2 pounds ground venison
Salt
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala, (or ½ teaspoon ground clove and 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro or parsley, (loosely packed)
Cayenne pepper to taste ((I use 1 teaspoon))
2 tablespoons tamarind paste, (mango chutney or peach jam)
3 tablespoons golden raisins ((optional))
3 citrus leaves (or bay leaves)
Juice of a lemon or lime
1 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
Categories
Main Course
Cuisine
South African
Steps
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Soak the bread in 2 cups of milk.
Cook the onions in the butter over medium heat until they’re soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle some salt over them as they cook. Add the garlic and the venison and brown well. Salt this as it cooks, too. Break apart the ground venison as it cooks so it looks like taco meat.
When it’s pretty much browned, add the curry powder, tamarind and all the remaining spices and herbs, and the raisins if using. Cover the pan, add the lemon or lime juice, and let this cook for a few minutes.
Squeeze out the milk from the bread and mash it into the mixture. Turn off the heat. Move the mix into a casserole dish and press it down well.
Beat the eggs and cream together and pour over the casserole. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the egg mixture is set and turning golden.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 442 kcal
Carbohydrates: 19 g
Protein: 30 g
Fat: 27 g
Saturated Fat: 15 g
Cholesterol: 190 mg
Sodium: 226 mg
Sugar: 10 g
Reviews
Helen Krueger on 2026-01-17 (5 stars): I'm blown away with how good this recipe is! I'll never doubt any recipe that you create - they are always SO good! Thanks for the cookbooks, the website, and the podcast. Hands down the best content on the internet!
PixyWinks on 2025-06-24 (5 stars): OMG! This was fantastic! I had some wild mystery meat in the freezer, probably ground elk or deer. I only had a pound, so mixed a pound of turkey with it. Did the rest of the recipe the same as you but omitted the raisins as the man of the house can't tolerate those. Also had to sub the tamarind with a mango peach jam (that's all I could find in our tiny town). Seriously, so good it went to one of the top 3 dinners at this house. Served it with mashed potatoes. It will definitely be in the rotation at our house.
Rick on 2025-06-18 (5 stars): Made this tonight for the first, but certainly not the last time. Followed the recipe exactly as written with Penzey’s Maharaja curry and Penzey’s Garam Masala. Used the full teaspoon of cayenne and dried Thai lime leaves. I plumped the golden raisins in very hot water before adding to the pot. Served with creamy cucumbers and naan. Absolutely delicious!
Kevin on 2025-03-14 (5 stars): Wow! I just made this for the family and it was a huge success! By far one of my favorite ground venison recipes ever. I served over basmati rice and it was perfect. I would recommend adding the cayenne for a small kick. Can’t wait to try other recipes from the book.
Tom Greek on 2025-02-28 (5 stars): Absolutely love this dish. Exotic yet comforting all at the same time.
While we've made this many times, the most memorable was making it for a video while my wife and I were part of a focus group for the new Ninja Combi. We both ended up being chosen for the infomercial, and a crew came to our house to film us making bobotie. We made enough for the entire crew and they loved it! Unfortunately none of the bobotie scenes made it into the final cut but you may see my wife and I if you are watching infomercials late some night.
L Victor on 2024-12-20 (5 stars): Hank this looks super intriguing! We have a Celiac person in our house..any brilliant ideas for a bread substitute? I could use gluten free bread, but that rice flour can be pretty mealy when moistened. Any ideas? Thank you!
Jeff House on 2024-07-26 (5 stars): Have made this several times now at my Bride’s request. A simple yet delicious recipe. A great balance between the savory, sweet and curry make this a fun and easy dinner!
Andre Priebe on 2024-06-16 (5 stars): Great Recipe. Having lived in South Africa for many years this recipe is as good as it gets. Very close to the cape maylaysan recipe is that I have.I am back in Germany and this is my friends favourite dish when I make it.
Chris on 2023-12-05 (4 stars): Another great recipe from Hank Shaw. I wanted a dish with ground venison but not tomato-y or cottage pie and settled on Bobatie. I even had tamarind sauce in fridge.
Recipe is easy to follow and has a lot of good flavours.
Stephanie on 2022-11-18 (5 stars): Great recipe. I have made it with both venison and beef, and with tamarind paste and mango chutney (after I ran out of tamarind paste and it was easier to find mango chutney). All versions have been delicious.
Alison Khayat on 2021-08-18 (5 stars): Fantastic! The family devoured it. The flavors were incredible.
Ebie on 2021-07-20 (5 stars): We always have chopped tomatoes and sliced bananas and chutney on the side. The banana tones down the spice.
Steve Engelhardt on 2021-02-12 (5 stars): As always, another amazing recipe! Being from Wisconsin, I added some cheddar cheese to the cream and eggs. I also substituted dried WI cranberries since I didn’t have any golden raisins. It was FANTASTIC! Thanks for another great experience.
Can’t wait until we get your next cookbook!
Joe on 2021-01-13 (5 stars): Wife thought it looked like a dog’s mess and wasn’t looking forward to eating it. When she tried it though she said it was the best thing she had tried in a long time! Was able to source the Major Gray chutney at Kroger and served it with naan bread. The whole family loved it. We ate it while watching Alabama kick Ohio State’s ass in the National Championship. Win! Win!
john on 2020-12-24 (5 stars): Holy Moly what a surprise! This recipe is straight up delicious. I read past it in the cookbook many times because the picture doesn't do it justice for the flavor. I used peach jam due to not finding the other options and it was great. I didn't expect to like this as much as I did.
