Place the butter/oil into a heated saucepan and saute the onion until translucent over medium heat. Add the curry powder and turmeric and fry until spices are cooked – a couple of minutes.
While the onion is frying, soak the bread in half the milk. Squeeze out the milk and add the bread to the mince.
Add the mince and bread to the pan and brown. Add the raisins (if using), almonds (if using), apricot jam, fruit chutney and lemon juice. Fry for a further few minutes, stirring to combine.
Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof casserole dish. Beat the eggs and the rest of the milk together and pour over the meat.
Poke the bay leaves into the meat mixture at intervals so the flavor will cook through the meat.
Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes when the egg/milk topping should be set.
Serve hot with yellow rice and steamed veggies. (To cook yellow rice: follow cooking instructions on rice packet, but add 1-2 teaspoons of turmeric to cooking water. Once cooked, place rice into a colander and rinse under running water to remove excess turmeric and starch).