Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is a British or Irish pie made with beef mince and a crust of mashed potatoes. This dish has been around since the early 1800's. In most cases then, the pie dish was lined with roasted leftover meat and topped with mashed potatoes to make the crust and then baked. 

My mom also made this pie exactly the same way. Any left over mince at home was made into a pie the next day. It was a delicious way of finishing a leftover. 

I have made the pie with fresh mince and vegetables and spiced it up a bit to cater to the Indian taste. This pie is also a  good way of finishing up any vegetables lying around in your fridge.

 All kids love shepherd's pie and it has their greens and proteins and carbohydrates all packed into one. That's a good enough reason to be making this at home.

Here's what you will need to make this healthy pie

Preparation time - 15 minutes

Cooking time - 30 minutes

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

500g beef mince

2 tbsps oil

1 onion chopped

3 tomatoes peeled and chopped

1 big cup vegetables of your choice(carrots, corn, mushrooms, peas, beans, peppers)

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

a pinch of turmeric

salt to taste

For potato crust

4 potatoes boiled

salt, pepper and oregano/mixed herbs for seasoning

7 tbsps milk

1 tsp butter

Method

• Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion to this.  Once the onions have browned lightly, add the mince, ginger garlic paste and salt to taste.
• Sauté on high flame until the mince has browned. Add the vegetables to this and mix. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.

• Add tomatoes and all the spices to this and mix well. Cover and let it cook on slow for 10-15 minutes.

• While the mince is cooking you can prepare the mash. Take the potatoes in a mixing bowl and mash with a vegetable masher/fork. Add milk and seasoning to this and mix until smooth.

• The mince will be done by this time. Transfer the mince from the pan to a pretty 'oven to table' baking dish and press down a bit.

• Add the mash on top of the mince and even it out. Make a pretty design on top with a fork and add one tsp butter.

• Pop it in a pre heated oven at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes or until the crust turns a nice golden brown. 

Serve hot with ketchup.

Notes

1. Using oregano/mixed herbs for seasoning the mash is optional.
2. You can add more butter on the mash before putting it in the oven to get a crispy golden crust. 
3. I have used tinned tomatoes here cos they give a better flavour. Normal fresh tomatoes will work just as well.

Shabnam