Recipe: Indian Spiced Shepherd's Pie - Yummy! #TipsTuesdays 21

So for Tips Tuedays 21 I have a recipe for you. It is based off a recipe from Simply Nigella - a superb book that I recommend to everyone - so many great recipes and so many of them are really good for you too. Honestly, my husband and I have been living off these recipes as I work my way through the book. This one I have tampered with enough that I want to post it.

Indian-Spiced Shepherd's Pie

Wittegen Press

$3.29 | £2.19
Amazon | Other

The first thing I have to say about this recipe is that is takes a lot of work, it takes me about an hour and half from starting to finished product. However, it can easily freeze. This recipe makes enough for four people, so if there are only two of you, you can freeze the spare and have it again another day. My husband and I like this recipe so much that I just make 4 and two go in the fridge and we eat them a day or so later the same week. These are even better when they are twice cooked.

Ingredients
Topping

• 1kg sweet pots (more if you like lots and lots of topping on your pie)
• 2 tblspn sea salt flakes (I use smoked sea salt flakes because I love the depth of flavour)
• 2x15ml tblspn white peppercorns (I can't seem to get any of these, so I use some ground white pepper or black peppercorns)
• 6 cardamom pods (crack these slightly with a pestle and mortar)
• peeled strips of zest from 1 lime (I use a french peeler to take the zest off)
• juice of half the lime
• water to cover the potatoes
• 4cm (20g) piece of fresh ginger (you will use this at the end)

Filling

• 3 cloves of garlic, freshly peeled (if you have squeezy garlic, this works too)
• 4cm (20g) piece of fresh gingers (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 1 onion peeled (I used red onion here because it's supposed to be good for us)
• 1/4 tspn ground cardamom (the original recipe uses the seeds from 6 pods, but I could not be bothered so used ground instead)
• 2 tspn cumin seeds
• 1 tspn ground coriander (the original recipe said to use 2 tspn coriander seeds, but I didn't like the texture they gave to the finished product)
• 2 x 15ml tblsp cold pressed coconut oil (use another oil if you can't get it - for those in the UK, our local B&M has been selling it for £1.79 lately, rather than Morrisons who have it for £6!)
• 2 tspns garam masala
• 1 tspn mild chilli powder (original recipe says 2 tspn chilli flakes, but this makes it too hot for me - go with whatever heat you prefer)
• 1 tspn ground turmeric
• 500g (~2 1/4 cups) minced turkey (original recipe says lamb, which is traditional, but I find it too fatty and turky mince is better for us :))
• 1x400g tin chopped toms
• 100g (~1/2 cup) red lentils or rice (red lentils are best, but I didn't have any the first time, so I used rice and it worked well too)
• 1 tspn sea salt flakes
• 2x15ml tblspn Worcestershire sauce

If you wanted a vegetarian version, I am sure coya mince would work and you could substitute the Worcestershire sauce for soy or another favourite along the same lines.

Instructions

Wittegen Press

$3.98 | £2.98
Amazon | Other

1. Chop the sweet potatoes into 4-5cm chunks (nip off the ends if they look a little woody) - YOU DON'T HAVE TO PEEL THEM
2. Place the potato, salt, pepper, cardamom pods and lime zest strips in a large saucepan that has a lid. Pour in enough water to cover everything.
3. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat so the water is bubbling gently and then pop on the lid. Boil for approximately 30 mins.
4. While the pots are boiling start the filling by placing the garlic, onion, cardamom, cumin and coriander in a food processor or a bowl. Then use the food processor or a stick blender (my preferred option) to turn the mixture into a paste. If you don't have either or prefer your onion chunkier, you can chop everything finely instead.
5. In a heavy based pan that has a lid (I use my large frying pan) heat the coconut oil and then add the paste/finely chopped mixture. Fry gently to cook through the spices and soften the onion and garlic if you are using the chopped method.
6. Add the garam masala, chilli and tumeric, mixing them in thoroughly.
7. Add the mince, turning it in the spice mixture and breaking it up as you go until it is no longer lumpy.
8. Add the chopped tomatoes (I don't like the bits in chopped tomatoes so I use the stick blender on the contents of the can before I add it to make it smooth) and then a can of cold water as well. Stir in.
9. Add the red lentils and stir in until they are mixed through the mince.
10. Add the salt and the Worcestershire sauce, give it a good stir and then bring to the boil. Put on the lid and simmer for 25 mins, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick.
11. Preheat the oven to 220C (425F, Gas Mark 7)
12. Now back to the topping - once the potatoes are cooked, drain them, saving some of the cooking liquid, and put them in a bowl to cool.
13. Once they have cooled, peel off the skin - it will slough off easily using your fingers. Then put the peeled pots in a bowl big enough to mash them in.
14. Mash the sweet potatoes using a normal potato masher (I like to get in there with the stick blender as well for a smooth finish, but it's not necessary).
15. Beat in a little of the cooking liquid to make the potato less dense and then squeeze in the juice of half the lime. Mix together thoroughly.
16. Once the filling is cooked, ladle it into 4 individual dishes, or one large one (approximately 400ml for small, 30x20x5cm for the large - I actually use two individual pie dishes and two large ramekins because I can't eat as much as my husband :)).
17. Cover each pie with the sweet potato mixture and pop them all into the oven for 10-15 mins if doing the individual size or 30-35 for the one large option.
18. Eat and enjoy.