Still A Long Way To Go.....

Hi All

Mr. Pigg what can be said about him, the class and caliber of the 'Old Cock' would put a lot of men to shame. I started the first game of squash last night with a win, a good win at that. The Squash Killer was the one who actually returned last night and not me. He gave me a really good "KLAP" that's African for "A Good Smack". There Trev, I gave you your due. I WILL BE BACK.

South Africa is renowned for our diverse cultures and none more so than the Malay influence in the Cape. The Malays make a wonderful dish called BOBOTIE which I am going to give you a recipe later in the blog. The only problem I have with bobotie is that it has raisins in it. Now me and the wrinkled grape are not big Mates, in fact I detest the bloody things. I prefer my grapes in a good bottle of Merlot or a Kanonkop Pinotage than to eat the wretched thing.

It stems back to my childhood, my Mom apparently gave me one to eat as a toddler and I immediately spat the thing back at her. The rest as they say is history.

One can feel the excitement building around town as the guys are all calling their friends to see what, where are they going to watch the World Cup Rugby Final on Saturday night. The party seems to have started already. GO BOKKIE!!!!

Till meet blog again.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

BOBOTIE

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium sized onions, chopped

10 ml vegetable oil

40 ml butter

600 g beef mince

2 thick slices of stale white bread

125 g sultana raisins

60 ml flaked almonds

40 ml chutney

2 garlic cloves, crushed

10 ml masala

5 ml turmeric

5 ml ground cumin

5 ml ground coriander

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

3 cloves

salt to taste

ground black pepper

10 bay leaves

Egg custard:

3 eggs

150 ml milk

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Fry the onions in vegetable oil and butter over medium heat until they begin to brown.

Add the mince and brown for a few minutes.

Place the mince in a colander and soak the bread in the juice that drains from it.
In a mixing bowl, combine the mince and all the rest of the ingredients except the bay leaves. Press the bobotie mixture into a deep oven-proof dish. Spike the bay leaves into the mince.
Beat together the eggs and milk and pour over the top of the mince.

Bake at 200°C for 30 minutes until the custard has browned.

Serve the bobotie with geel rys (white rice cooked with turmeric, raisins and cloves), chutney, chopped tomato and onion, sliced banana and desiccated coconut.

Serves 6 - 8 people.