Bobotie

We were hoping to ride the wave of World Cup euphoria by launching a World Cup special mooli. It is ready. But it feels odd to launch it tonight, with England putting in one of the most dismal performances I've ever seen. Anyway, the show must go on. Ironically, Anna has just started playing Massive Attack....

So we have it. The bobotie mooli. The original bobotie is a slightly wierd dish created by the Cape Malay community of South Africa. A kind of spicy shepherds pie. With chopped apricots, sultanas, and Mrs Balls peach chutney. Or if you hail from the sub-continent, think about it as baked kheema with anda, raisins and a Gujarati mango chutney.

Wierd but wonderful.

Our bobotie mooli is filled with lean lamb mince slow cooked in a heady spice blend until that peculiar lamb smell disappears into the fire of the spices. Seriously, it is pretty hot. We've gone light on the fruity stuff, although the mango chutney and egg (both optional) takes a little of the edge off. Just a little. And its got our famous zingy salsa of tomatoes, red onions and coriander marinated in lime juice. My brown cheeks are still flush from my first spicy bobotie mooli. Rooney & Co looked like they could have done with a bobotie mooli before the game.

credits: Rohit Chugh, Jan Smit, Mrs Balls, Rob Levy, Joanna Simon, Cape Town Fish Market, James Murrell, Manisha, Paul Tosio, Keith Posh, Herman Vanderwalt....