Daal Shepherd's Pie
We love curry recipes and we love Shepherd's pie recipes. They're both utterly delicious in their own right. We've made many-a-curry with great success over the course of the last couple of years so we decided to have a crack at blending these two gastronomic behemoths together to see what would happen. This dish will genuinely send you into a total tizzy and put you under a delicious spell. You have to give it a bash. A brilliant vegan family meal with a twist, a really exciting an interesting vegetarian recipe!
Serves
Ingredients
For the daal filling
<item-todo-done>2 tbsp coconut oil<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>2 tbsp ground cumin<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp turmeric<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>2 tsp garam masala<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp caster sugar<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp ground coriander<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp ground fenugreek<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 onion<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>20g fresh coriander<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>3 garlic cloves<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>3cm ginger<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 red chilli<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>200g red lentils<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 x 400g can x 400g can(s) of chopped tomatoes<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>500ml vegetable stock<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> Salt & pepper to taste<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>10g coriander<item-todo-done>
For the Bombay potato topping
<item-todo-done>1 tbsp vegetable bouillon<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp salt<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>3 tbsp coconut oil<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp cumin seeds<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp mustard seeds<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1kg potatoes<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp turmeric - + 1tsp<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>3cm piece of fresh ginger<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>3 garlic cloves<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>4 spring onions<item-todo-done>
For the raita
<item-todo-done>200g coconut yoghurt<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>3 spring onions<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>¼ cucumber<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>½ tsp caster sugar<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>½ tbsp salt<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>5g fresh mint<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>5g fresh coriander leaves<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>½ Juice of 1 lemon<item-todo-done>
To serve
<item-todo-done> mango chutney<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> popadoms<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> side salad<item-todo-done>
Before you start
Preheat oven to 180°C | Fine grater | Large saucepan | Lasagne dish | Frying pan | Saucepan
First, make the filling
- Peel and finely dice the onion
- Pick the leaves from the coriander and finely slice the stalks
- Peel and grate the garlic and ginger
- De-stalk and finely slice the chilli
- Prepare the stock
Make the dal
- Warm the coconut oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion, a pinch of salt and stir for 4-5 minutes until soft
- Add garlic, chilli, ginger and coriander stalks to the pan and stir for 2 minutes
- Turn the heat down and add the cumin, turmeric, garam masala, sugar, ground coriander, fenugreek and a splash of water to the pan
- Stir for 1-2 minutes to combine
- Add the lentils to the pan and stir for 1 minute
- Add the chopped tomatoes and coconut milk to the pan and stir to combine
- Pour the vegetable stock into the pan, bring it to the boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, put the lid on and leave to simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the lentils are almost cooked
Prepare the potato topping
- Wash the potatoes and cut into ½ cm thick slices
- Peel and grate the garlic & ginger
- Peel and finely dice the spring onion
- Pick the coriander leaves and finely slice the stalks Put the slices of potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, sprinkle the vegetable bouillon, salt and 1 tsp of turmeric into the pan
- Bring the water to the boil over a high heat and leave to simmer for 5 minutes
- Drain the potato slices with a colander and leave to steam dry
- Warm the coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium heat
- Add the onion and a small pinch of salt to the pan and stir for 5-6 minutes
- Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds to the pan and stir for 30 seconds
- Add the garlic, ginger and coriander stalks to the pan and stir for 1-2 minutes
- Take the pan off the heat, add the slices of potato and picked coriander leaves to the pan and gently fold them into the flavoured oil
- Set the pan to one side
Now assemble the Indian Shepherd’s Pie
- Pour the filling into the base of the lasagne dish and smooth out with a spoon
- Carefully layer the slices of potato over the top of the filling in a decorative fashion
- Cover the lasagne dish with foil, place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes
- Take the dish out of the oven, remove the foil, return the dish to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes to crisp the bombay potato
- To make the Raita, trim and finely slice the spring onions
- Coarsely grate the cucumber and use a clean tea towel to squeeze out the excess water
- Pick and finely slice the mint and coriander leaves
- Add the spring onions, cucumber, mint and coriander in a bowl with the caster sugar, salt, yoghurt and lemon juice and fold everything together to form the raita
Time to serve
- Plate up the Indian Shepherd’s Pie with some raita, salad, mango chutney, some pappadums and serve