Sarika shares her version of the wholesome Shepherd’s Pie. Traditionally cooked with minced mutton, she changed it to minced chicken. Here’s an Indian version of the English and Irish cuisine.
Shepherd’s Pie is one of my son’s all time ultimate favourite food. It is one of the British cuisines, which he can eat any time any day. He always rated it No.1 comparing to pizza, pasta and even French fries. It is one of the meals, which I also prefer for him. It is a-one pot meal. It consists of ground meat, mashed potatoes and vegetables.
We discovered Shepherd’s Pie in London, almost three years ago. One fine day, we three (me, husband and son) went out for dinning. There the dad chose a plate of pie for the son, being a picky eater he refused to touch it. But after five minutes of watching his dad, he ventured a taste of it and really loved it too. So, when I tried it at home in my way, with little bit of Indian touch, he claimed that mine one is much better than the restaurant.
Let me tell you a bit more about Shepherd’s Pie. Traditionally, it was made with leftover lamb and vegetables. Shepherd’s Pie or Cottage Pie is a type of savoury pie, made with minced meat and mashed potato on top. It belongs to UK and Ireland. Cottage Pie is usually made with minced beef and if it is made with lamb than it is called Shepherds’ Pie.
Instead of lamb, I tried with chicken and it was huge success. Today, I am sharing my version of Shepherd’s Pie or Indian style Shepherd’s Pie.
Ingredients:
- Chicken mince-2 cups
- Boiled and mashed potatoes-3
- Garlic-5 cloves
- Chopped onions-2
- Chopped green chilies-3
- Oil-4 tablespoons
- Turmeric powder-1tbsp
- Red chili powder-1tbsp
- Melted butter -4 spoons
- Fresh cream-3 spoons
- Cheese -50 grams
- Garam masala powder-2 tbsp
- Fresh coriander-2tbsp
Method:
Take clean chicken mince and keep it separately, preheat the oven to 200C/180C/GAS 6. Heat oil in a pan .
Heat oil in a pan and add garlic onion and sauté for minute. Add chopped green chilies, chicken mince and again fry for 3 minutes. Now, add turmeric powder, salt, red chilies and sauté.
Add chopped tomatoes, coriander leaves, garam masala powder and mix well. Add salt, butter, cream to mashed potatoes cheese and mix well. Keep stirring the chicken mince till it is well cooked without any lumps.
Transfer it in a glass baking dish, and pipe the cream potatoes and cheese on top. Bake till the potatoes turn a golden radiant colour for about 15 minutes.
Serve hot.
Everyone loves Shepherd’s Pie, it seems. I look forward to trying this spicier, Indian version. I occasionally make a Vegan version, using “textured vegetable protein” and lots of vegetables, replacing the cheese with something called nutritional yeast, which has a delicious, cheesy flavor (great on popcorn!). I’m sure we’d all prefer the traditional version, but it is quite good and lets us all feel virtuous for awhile! At least until the next one, made with beef and cheese!