Frans'S Prizewinning Bobotie - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 slices brown bread, thickly sliced
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons butter
2 onions, medium, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder (fresh, not too strong)
1 tablespoon apricot jam
2 tablespoons chutney (this would be a fruity chutney like Mrs Balls or Wellingtons)
5 teaspoons vinegar, brown (we use a brown grape or wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon turmeric
2 lbs ground beef (and add 2 oz extra, as he uses 1 kg lean mince, just over 2 lbs)
1/3 cup raisins (more than 1/3rd, he uses 100 ml)
1/3 cup almonds, split (more than 1/3rd, he uses 100 ml)
2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
8 bay leaves (or use lemon leaves)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 deg F/ 180 deg Celsius.
Break up the bread and soak in the milk.
Heat oil and butter in a pan, and fry the onion and garlic until tender and transparent. Add the curry powder and apricot jam (jelly) and mix well.
Add the chutney, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and HALF the turmeric.
Press the milk from the bread, keeping the milk. Add the bread to the mixture in the pan and mix in well. (Break up lumps).
Add the ground beef, raisins, splintered almonds and salt.
Mix well, and fry over low heat until the meat just starts changing colour.
Remove pan from stove. Beat 1 egg and mix into the meat mixture.
Put the mixture into a suitable, greased oven dish. Arrange the bay or lemon leaves in top, or push in halfway.
Beat the 2 leftover eggs with the rest of the turmeric, and the milk you saved from the bread. Pour this carefully over the bobotie.
Put the bobotie into a larger dish, and pour warm water into the outer dish, to fill it about 2/3rds full.
Bake for 1 hour. Serve with traditional Yellow Rice with Raisins.