Curry Spiced Shepherd’s Pie

This is a really tasty version of shepherd’s pie I made the other day.  I used a mix of vegetables for the mash as my hubby is diabetic and too much potato is not good for him.

Curry Flavoured Shepherds Pie

Ingredients

• 100ml olive oil
• 650g chicken mince     (you can use lamb if you prefer)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (I used more garlic, but we love garlic it’s up to you how much you use )
• 2cm piece ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoons korma curry paste (I used heaped tablespoons)
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup (80g) tomato kasundi (Tomato kasundi is a spicy Indian tomato relish from delis.), plus extra to serve
• 1 cup (120g) frozen peas
• 1kg potatoes, chopped (I used a mix of carrots, potato, sweet potato and parsnip as my hubby is a diabetic)
• 1 cup coriander leaves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 long green chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped (I left seeds in we love chilli)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 100g unsalted butter
• 10-12 fresh curry leaves (optional)

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frypan over high heat. Cook chicken, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon, for 6-8 minutes until browned. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Place onion in the frypan and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add garlic, ginger and curry paste, then cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Return chicken to the pan with tomato and kasundi, then bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until thick. Stir in peas. Transfer mixture to a 2Litre baking dish, level the surface and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place potato/vegetables in a saucepan of cold, salted water, bring to the boil and cook over medium-high heat for 12-14 minutes until tender. Drain, then mash until smooth. Add the coriander, turmeric, chilli, lemon juice and butter, then season and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Spread over chicken mixture, then bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Heat remaining 1/4 cup (60ml) oil in a frypan over high heat. Fry curry leaves for 20 seconds or until crisp. Drain.

Serve pie with curry leaves and kasundi.