Shake your bobotie!!

Oh no, that was terrible wasn't it? Anyone? Y'all don't know about bobotie?!! Well I guess bobotie is a pretty traditional South African meal. It's a spicy, fruity mincemeat dish (think raisins, a bit of fruit chutney) which is covered with a savoury custard, sprinkled with nutmeg and baked in the oven. You eat it with rice.

It sounds pretty darn barbaric doesn't it? Well, this one's vegetarian (it is also very possible to veganise it) and it's so delicious. I got the recipe from my dietician Keri and she just rocks the casbah now!

Lentil and butternut bobotie
Serves 4 (at least)

2 tsp olive oil
2 medium red onions, chopped
400g butternut (or pumpkin) squash, peeled cubed and parcooked (steam/boil)
4 cloves of garlic
1 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely sliced
5ml garam masala
4 lemon leaves
410g can of chopped tomatoes
15ml grated fresh ginger
1 small bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
10ml sugar
410g can of cooked lentils, drained and rinsed(or cook your own)
2 eggs and one egg white
350ml milk
Nutmeg
Handful of raisins
1Tbsp fruit chutney
Salt and milled black pepper (to taste)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add onions and butternut squash and simmer until softened. Stir in the garlic, chilli, masala, and lemon leaves. Add the can of tomatoes, cover and cook for 3-4 mins. Stir in the ginger, coriander, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for 5 mins to allow the flavours to develop.
Remove the lid and cook on high for about 15 mins until the liquid has almost evaporated.
In the meantime, beat the eggs into the milk to make a custard mixture and season well.
Mix together the lentils, raisins and fruit chutney. Layer lentils and butternut in an ovenproof dish, starting with half the lentil mixture, following with the butternut, and ending with the other half of the lentils.
Pour the egg mixture over, sprinkle generously with nutmeg and press in a lemon leaf or two.

Bake at 160 degrees centigrade for 45-50 minutes or until the custard is golden brown and just set. Serve on it's own, with a big colourful salad, freshly cooked vegetables, or brown rice (yes, I used basmati...but...but...it was pre-cooked! And only took a minute to warm up. And I'm a big ol' lazy)

For a vegan version: You could make the egg custard using a base of silken tofu, and adding 350ml soya milk? What are your suggestions?