Fry two chopped up onions in a little coconut oil, until they are soft and slightly brown. Then add about a tablespoon each of garam masala, cumin and cinnamon. Add half a cup of raisins, a teaspoon of salt, two knobs of chopped preserved ginger, two tablespoons of apricot jam and one tablespoon of soya sauce. Stir fry this together with the onions for about a minute or two to release the flavours of the spices.
Then add the lamb mince and stir fry together with the onion mixture until properly and evenly cooked.
Add one can of butter or cannellini beans, drained.
In a bowl, beat together 300ml milk, 2 free range eggs, 3ml almond essence and 1 teaspoon of mustard powder. Pour this over the mince mixture. Press a few bay leaves into the mixture.
If you have a stove and oven-safe dish (like my Le Creuset in the picture), then place it into a larger oven dish and fill around it with boiling water to make a Bain Marie. Alternatively, you can transfer the Bobotie into an oven proof dish and then make a Bain Marie around that. The water needs to come about half way up the sides of the dish. The reason for doing this is to keep the custard topping on the Bobotie smooth and to prevent the edges from going hard.
Bake in the oven at 180'C for about 40 minutes.
Serve with peach chutney.
This recipe serves six.
If you want more details on how to make a Bain Marie, here is a good explanation.
