Bobotee is sometimes considered the national dish of South Africa, although it is commonly thought that it arrived there with Malaysian immigrants during the 17th century. Traditionally made with ground meat, the exotic flavors of this dish lend themselves well to our vegetarian interpretation.
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz white bread
- 1 c milk
- 1/2 c water
- 1 tsp beef style vegetarian broth mix
- 1/2 c TVP bits or use dark gluten shreds
- 1 Tbsp butter or margarine
- 1 c onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder (or paste)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp raisins
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- salt as needed
- 2 eggs
- 4 bay leaves
- 1-2 bananas, sliced
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 6 cup baking dish. In a small bowl, soak white bread in milk for a few minutes. Squeeze until dry; retain milk. In another small bowl, mix together the water and beef style broth mix. Add the TVP and soak for 10 minutes or more.
- In a large skillet over low flame, melt butter and saute onion 7 minutes. Add curry powder and turmeric; continue to saute 1 minute. Add TVP with any residual soaking liquid, sugar, raisins and lemon juice. Remove from flame. Thoroughly mix squeezed bread into TVP mixture. Taste for salt and add a dash if needed.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs; add half of the eggs to TVP mixture, whisking well. Whisk the other half into the reserved milk.
- Spoon TVP mixture into the prepared baking dish; smooth top. Pour egg mixture evenly over the TVP layer, and arrange bay leaves on top. Bake 35-40 minutes or until set. Serve sliced bananas with the bootee, adding them at the last minute to prevent browning.