Nina’s Shepherd's Pie with Keema

Submitted by: NINA MUKERJEE FURSTENAU

When my friend, Cathy Salter, sent me a recipe with my childhood favorite Indian keema made into a shepherd's pie, I had to try it. It appeared in The Week online and is an adaptation of Nik Sharma's, I believe, in The Flavor Equation. For those of you who haven't tried keema--it's an Indian comfort food like no other, at least for me--minced meat (lamb, but beef works as well), peas, and the "warm" spices of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, dried red chili, and bay. This recipe calls for garam masala as a shortcut, but it works well with the whole spices, too. It's topped off with mashed potatoes, made here with sour cream, and I have to say, it's delicious. Hats off to Cathy. Another winner. Psst: it was billed as "A flavor-rich version fit for a holiday table," just in time for end of December meals.

Shepherd's Pie with Keema

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 medium white onion, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

• 1 green chili, minced

• 2 teaspoons garam masala

• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1 teaspoon cayenne powder

• 1/2 pound peas

• 1/2 pound carrots, cut into thin, 1-inch matchsticks

• 6 oz chourico sausage (optional)

• 1/4 cup tomato paste

• 2 pounds minced lamb (option: minced beef)

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

• 1 teaspoon fish sauce

• For the Potato Topping:

  • 1 pound russet potatoes

  • 5 ounce creme fraiche, sour cream, or plain yogurt

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • Fine sea salt to taste

  • 1/2 cup panko crumbs
    
    

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Heat the oil in a large skillet and when hot, add onion and saute 4-5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and green chili and saute 1 minute. Stir in garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne powder, and cook 30 seconds. Add minced meat and stir and fry until the meat browns. Add peas and carrots, and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. (If using the churico sausage, at this point, remove it from its casing, break into small pieces, add to skillet and cook 4-5 minutes, then remove any excess fat from pan.) Stir in tomato paste. Sift flour over the meat mixture and fold to coat evenly. Add vinegar and cook on low heat, stirring until the liquid has almost completely evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and fish sauce. Transfer the meat to a large baking dish and level with a spatula.

For the potatoes:
Scrub the potatoes and place in a large pot with salted water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and cook until the potatoes are completely tender but not mushy, 20-30 minutes. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes and discard the skins. Mash them in a large bowl with the creme fraiche or sour cream or yogurt, butter, and pepper until smooth. Add salt to taste. Spoon the mixture over the meat in the baking dish. Level with a spatula. Sprinkle panko crumbs over the potato topping and bake pie until the top is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes.