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2 thick slices of white bread

150ml milk

3 tbsp vegetable oil

Large onions, finely chopped

Garlic gloves, crushed

3cm (1in) piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 tbsp mild curry powder

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

450g lamb mince

1 small dessert apple, grated

75g fruit chutney

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tomato purée

A handful of sultanas

Salt and pepper to season

For the custard

2 medium eggs

275g Greek yoghurt

A handful of flaked almonds

2 kaffir lime leaves or bat leaves (see Tip)

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1. Put the bread into a small tray or shallow bowl and pour over the milk. Leave to soak. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4.

2. Heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and fry until soft and just golden. Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, coriander and cumin and cook for a further minute or so. Transfer into a large bowl.

3. Wipe the saucepan clean and pour the remaining oil. Turn the heat up and fry the lamb mince for 5-6 minutes, until brown. Press the meat down with a fish slice to encourage it to brown properly. When the meat is browned on all sides, add it to the spiced onions, along with the apple, chutney, Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée, and sultanas. Add a little water if it looks too thick. Fork the wet bread into the mixture, season and gently combine. Pile the mixture into a 2-litre ovenproof dish and use the back of a wooden spoon to flatten it.

4. Mix the eggs with yogurt. Season with salt and pepper, then pour over the mixture. Scatter with the almonds, then place the kaffir leaves on top and bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the custard topping has set and browned. Remove the bobotie from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Tip – This is a traditional way to make bobotie, but when we were little this was often made from leftover roast lamb. Don’t fry the meat, just chop or mince it, then mix with spiced onions. Bobotie is always topped with a couple of leaves. In South Africa the dish is generally topped with kaffir lime leaves; in England they are usually bay leaves.