Bobotie and quick apricot chutney

Description:
If you feel adventurous, here's a recipe for South African Bobotie that basically cannot fail.
(This recipe has been posted earlier, in Dutch. People asked for an English version, so here you are!)



Ingredients:
Ingredients for the Bobotie:
1 kg ground lamb and or beef
4 large onions
4 - 6 slices of bread (not wholewheat but any other kind will do)
1 - 1½ cup of milk
2 - 3 eggs, depending on how large they are
2 teaspoons mild to spicy curry powder (I always use Madras curry) or more, to taste
1½ tablespoons sugar
2 - 3 teaspoons salt, or more or less to taste
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ - 1 tablespoon kurkuma (also called kunjit or tumeric)
4 tablespoons vinegar
10 - 15 almonds, coarsely hacked
½ - 1 cup seeded raisins
3 - 5 tablespoons fine apricot jam


Bobotie and (apricot) chutney simply belong together, so I added a quick recipe for chutney

Ingredients for the quick apricot chutney:
1 cup fine apricot jam (no thick lumps of fruit)
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more, depending on how hot you like it
½ teaspoon ginger
¾ cup vinegar

Directions:
Directions to make the bobotie:
Slice and dice onions, not too finely, and brown lightly in oil or fat. Add minced meat, brown.
Soak bread in milk till soft. Squeeze out some of the milk, crumble into meat in pan. Mix well.
•Add all the ingredients except for one egg and half a cup of milk. Mix well (either mix it all and add at once, or mix in egg off the fire). Pour mix into oven pan, bake about 1½ hour in a mild oven (160 - 180 deg C); better too cool than too hot.
About ½ hour before it's done, do the following:
•Mix the remaining egg with ½ cup of milk and pour over the mix in the oven. Fully cover the surface. then, another half hour in the oven and it's done.
Serve with (yellow) rice and chutney.





Directions to make a quick aprocot chutney:
•Mix all, add vinegar to taste
•Cook softly till it's thickened to the consistency of a very runny jam.
•Cool, save in glass jar. Enjoy with bobotie or with curry, cheese sandwich, rub over chicken and pop into oven, etc etc.

Biltong (Savory Dried Meat)

Ingredients:
12.5 kg venison, beef or ostrich meat (fillet, rump or sirloin)
560 g fine salt
125 ml brown sugar
25 ml bicarbonate of soda
10 ml saltpetre (optional)
12.5 ml milled pepper
125 ml coarsely ground coriander
250 ml brown sugar
2.5 litres warm water
500ml vinegar

Directions:
Cut the meat along the natural dividing lines of the muscles, down the length of the whole leg or a portion of it. Cut the pieces into strips 5-7 cm thick, with some fat on each strip.
Mix the salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, saltpetre, pepper and coriander together and rub the mixture into the strips of meat.. Layer the meat in a cool place for about 1 to 2 days, depending on how thick the meat is and how salty you want it to be.
Mix the vinegar and water and dip the biltong into it. Pat the pieces of meat dry and hang them up on S-shaped hooks - or use pieces of string - about 5 cm apart so that air can circulate freely in a cool dry place. Leave for 2 to 3 weeks until the biltong is dry.

Microwave Fudge

Ingredients:
250g butter or marge
1 tin condensed milk
2 cups sugar. Icing sugar works very well.

Directions:
Place in microwave for 12 mins on high.
Stir after 3 mins and then again every 3 mins.
Remove add vanilla and beat well