Braai Life

Recipes / Bread

Jaffles with curried mince

Sealed toasted sandwiches cooked in a cast-iron jaffle iron over the coals, filled with a thick curried mince and cheese.

Coals
Medium coals
Prep
15 min
On the fire
50 min
Plan ahead
15 minutes cooling the filling
Serves
6 jaffles

Ingredients

Curried mince filling

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 500 g (1.1 lb) beef mince (ground beef)
  • 2 teaspoons medium curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 x 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon fruit chutney (optional; Mrs Ball's or mango chutney)
  • Salt and black pepper

To assemble

  • 12 slices soft white or brown sandwich bread
  • Soft butter
  • 120 g (4 oz) grated mozzarella or cheddar
  • A cast-iron jaffle iron (sold as a pie iron in the US and Australia)

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium coals or on the stove. Cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and the mince and brown it, breaking it up with a spoon.
  2. Stir in the curry powder, coriander, cumin and turmeric and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
  3. Add the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes and chutney. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the mixture is thick and almost dry. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Take the filling off the heat and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes. A hot, wet filling makes the bread soggy.
  5. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Oil the inside of the jaffle iron.
  6. Lay a slice butter side down on one half of the iron. Add a small handful of cheese, then a heaped spoon of filling in the centre, leaving a 2 cm (1 inch) border of plain bread all round.
  7. Top with a second slice butter side up. Clamp the iron shut and trim off any crust that sticks out.
  8. Hold the iron over medium coals, or rest it on the grid, for 3 to 5 minutes a side. Open it after 3 minutes to check the colour and close it again if it needs longer.
  9. Tip the jaffle out, cut it in half and let it cool for a minute before eating. Oil the iron again and repeat with the rest.

Done when: both faces are deep golden and crisp, the edges are sealed, and the filling is steaming hot, at least 71°C (160°F) for mince.

Tips

  • A wet filling means a soggy jaffle. Cook the mince down until a spoon dragged through it leaves a clear track, and let it cool.
  • Too much filling leaks out and burns onto the iron. The plain border is what seals the edges.
  • Oil or butter the iron every single time. Neglected cast iron sticks.
  • Hot coals scorch the bread before the middle is warm. Use medium coals and give it time.
  • Other fillings: cheese and baked beans; bacon, egg and cheese for breakfast; smoked snoek or smoked mackerel with chutney and mashed potato; banana and honey, or apple with cinnamon sugar, for a sweet one.

The jaffle iron was patented in Australia in 1949 and had become a fixture of South African camping trips and braais within ten years. A jaffle is a sealed pocket, closer to a pie than a toasted sandwich, which is what sets it apart from the open-grid braaibroodjie. Curried mince is the classic filling, and the mince also freezes well, so it is worth making a double batch.

For the coals, see reading your coals. Mince must be cooked through; see safe braai temperatures.