I am having so much fun playing around with and putting my own spin on some traditional South African recipes lately. Our upcoming Heritage Day this week has inspired me to make some of these, but as usual, I can’t leave a recipe as is.
So instead of serving a bobotie with yellow rice and raisins or sultanas as one usually does, I decided to turn this into a pie. I also adapted the flavours of my savoury pie crust, adding turmeric and black pepper, which works so well with bobotie flavours.
You definitely don’t need to add the braided crust to the top as I still add the traditional egg layer. Another little tweak I made was to use the Pesto Princess Cape Malay Curry Sauce instead of making the sauce from scratch. The flavours are perfect for this dish.
I have included the ingredients list for the sauce in the recipe though if you want to make the sauce from scratch or if you can’t get hold of this delicious pre-made sauce.
Bobotie Pie with Turmeric & Black Pepper Crust
A twist on a traditional South African Bobotie. Serving it as a Bobotie pie with turmeric and black pepper crust, instead of the traditional yellow rice. All the spicy, fruity, nutty flavours and textures of the traditional in a slightly different casing.
Share via Email
Share on Facebook
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1½ Cups All-Purpose/Cake Flour*
- ½ tsp Salt*
- ¾ tsp Turmeric*
- ⅛ tsp Ground Black Pepper (1 pinch or grinding)*
- 113 grams Unsalted Butter (½ Cup)* Cold or frozen
- 4 – 8 Tbsp Cold/Ice Water*
Bobotie Filling
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Medium Curry Powder***
- 1 tsp Masala or Mother in Laws Spice***
- ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon***
- ¼ tsp Ground Ginger***
- ¼ tsp Turmeric***
- 1 Dash of ground nutmeg***
- 1 Dash of ground all spice***
- ½ Onion finely chopped optional if using ready made sauce
- 1 Clove of garlic optional if using ready made sauce
- 500 grams Minced/Ground Beef
- Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
- ½ Tbsp Fruit chutney optional if using ready made sauce
- ½ Tbsp Apricot jam optional if using ready made sauce
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice***
- 3 Tbsp Tomato sauce (not Ketchup)***
- 3 Bay leaves
- ¼ Cup Seedless raisins or sultanas
- ¼ Cup Flaked toasted almonds plus more for garnish
Egg mixture
- 2 Large Eggs
- ½ Cup Milk
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Pastry
- *Double the pastry recipe if making a top / braided top
- Sieve or whisk together the flour, turmeric, salt and black pepper
- Grate the chilled/frozen butter into the flour mixture, cutting it in with a sharp knife or pastry cutter. Then add the cold water, one tablespoon at a time, and mix until it comes together as a dough. This can also be done in a food processor or stand mixer if you wish
- Do not overwork the dough. It is fine if there are bits of butter visible in the dough. If the dough is too dry and crumbly, add a dash more water a teaspoon at a time. This should not be a wet dough but should also not be dry and crumbly
- Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface or board and roll out into a circular shape, a little larger than the pie dish you are planning to use. (If you are planning to make pastry braids or other decorations for the top of your pie, wrap the remaining dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge until you are ready to use it. See the instructions in the assembly section below). If using a ceramic or glass dish then ensure that you very lightly grease it with non-stick cooking spray before placing the pastry inside. I used a 20cm non stick pie dish with a removable bottom, which does not need greasing as the pastry includes a lot of butter
- Place the dough into the pie dish and ensure that the bottom and sides are covered**. The pastry is soft and will most likely break when moving, so patch any holes or cracks if you need to. Place in the fridge or freezer for around 30 minutes while you preheat your oven and start your filling
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. When hot, remove the pastry case from the fridge, dock the bottom with a fork to prevent puffing up while blind baking and line with baking paper. Use baking beans, or dried beans or rice to weigh down the pastry. Make sure that no pastry is visible at this point. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the baking paper and beans/weights and bake uncovered for a further 5 – 10 minutes. You don't want the pastry to brown or shrink too much. It is ready when there are no visible 'wet' spots. Remove and let cool slightly before adding the filling (Leave the oven on)
Bobotie Filling
- Add the olive oil and all the spices to a large pan and bring to medium heat, cooking out the spices but regulate the heat as not to burn them. Cook for a couple of minutes then add the onion and garlic and cook for another minute or two
- If using the Pesto Princess Cape Malay Curry Sauce, skip the above and do not add the spices. The onion and garlic will be optional
- Add the minced beef, breaking it up and ensuring that it is all covered in the spices. Continue to cook and stir for about two minutes just to give the meat a little colour. Season the meat with salt and pepper
- If using the Pesto Princess Cape Malay Curry Sauce add it here, you can add the chutney and/or jam if you want a slightly sweeter sauce. If not using the pre made sauce, continue with the below steps
- Combine the chutney, jam, lemon juice and tomato sauce, add them to the meat and stir through. If the mixture needs more moisture/liquid, add a little more tomato sauce, water or stock (you do not want it to be too saucy as it will make the pie crust soggy)
- Add the bay leaves and cook for around 5 minutes, then add the seedless raisins or sultanas and cook for a further 5 minutes
- After the cooking time, add the toasted flaked almonds, mix through and remove the mixture from the heat to cool a little before adding to the pie crust
Egg mixture
- Whisk together the eggs and milk and add a pinch of salt, then set aside
Assembly
- Once cooled a little, add the mince mixture to the blind baked pie crust and smooth out
- If adding crust to the top of the pie then prepare it now. (I would not add a solid lid/top to the pie if adding the egg mixture as the pastry will go soggy. So if you want a closed pie, skip the egg mixture. The braids or leaves, as I did in the photos, are fine as it allows space between to expose the egg mixture to the heat and let it set)
- If making pastry braids, cut into even strips and braid each three together until you have enough to cover the top with spaces between. I made seven braids for mine with a couple of leaves cut out for decoration with the leftovers
- Pour the egg mixture over the mince mixture. You are welcome to add a couple of bay leaves to the top for garnish if you wish
- If adding braids, place them gently on top of the pie, allowing spaces between. Trim the edges to fit then give them a little egg wash before placing the pie in the oven
- If not adding crust on top, place the pie in the oven and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until it is golden brown (start checking from 30 minutes as some ovens run hot)
- Let cool for around 10 minutes in the baking tin before removing and serving. I sprinkled over more toasted flaked almonds for garnish
Notes
*Double the pastry recipe if making a top / braided top
**I roll the circle of dough over my rolling pin for ease of transfer to the pie dish, then place it loosely over the pie dish and work it into the corners and sides with my fingers.
***If using Pesto Princess Cape Malay Curry Sauce (1 x 500g), omit these ingredients
The pastry and the filling for this dish can be pre-made and either refrigerated or frozen. Just ensure that they are thoroughly defrosted before use if frozen. Ensure that the pastry is always kept cold. If the butter in the pastry melts before baking it will make a soggy and oily pie. You can also pre blind bake the bottom pastry case and refrigerate or freeze it. If doing it all on one day, please allow for the cooling and resting time, especially for the filling as you don’t want to add piping hot filling to the pastry case.
Tried this recipe?Post your pics and tag us at @my_homemade_kitchen_za or #myhomemadekitchen!
This looks amazing. Do you think I can make it and freeze it… And then bake?
Hi Lize. Thank you for your comment. Most definitely. I wouldn’t add the egg mixture before freezing though, but you can do all the steps including filling the blind baked crust. This pastry freezes really well, so does the mince mixture. My preference would be to freeze the pastry before blind baking and the mince mixture separately, but you can definitely freeze it as a whole pie too. I love meal prepping so most of my recipes freeze well and I will also usually say that in the notes. I often do that with the chicken and leek pie in my recipes, which is the same pastry (without the turmeric and black pepper). I have updated the notes section in this recipe to mention the freezing too. Please do let me know how it goes and feel free to ask if you have any questions. You can also DM me on Instagram or Facebook to get a quicker response. Have a wonderful day further!
Hi Vanessa,
I also have a question of the meal-prepping-kind! Me and my friends collectively are making an 8-course-menu, where everyone has a different course. I have course 5, and would love to make this beautiful pie (as I’m leaving for South Africa the next week!).
Question: Could I make the entire pie in the morning (crust blind baked, the pie already filled and also filled with the eggmixture filling and dough on top?). We have the dinnerparty in the evening, but since we have 8 courses, I would like to make the entire pie in advance in the morning, so that I would only have to put it in the oven when it’s my turn to cook!
Thanks in advance!
Hi Tara,
Thanks for the question. You most certainly can prep it in advance. I often prefer to make my dough and filling the day before, pop it in the fridge overnight, then bake the pie fresh on the day. You can definitely bake it on the morning, cutting a few minutes off the overall time, then just heat for around 10 minutes or so before serving. The egg mixture is the only thing I would not prep the day before, but you definitely can add it when baking in the morning. Keep the pie cool or refrigerated during the day, then heat in the oven (from room temperature) for the 10 minutes or so mentioned.
Please do let me know how it turns out. I love getting feedback and hearing or seeing how people make my recipes their own.