Shepherd's pie

So...it was Sunday and I was looking for something different to serve to the family. I had ground lamb and basically that was my searching point. I planned to make cheese burger pie but I had very little cheese so that was out of question. And when I was searching for the recipes I came across Shepherd's pie. mmm yummy deliciousness. The family loved it.

Since I did not have celery I improvised with Zucchini and nobody noticed any difference and they loved it. And I served it with steamed broccoli. And yummy tummy filling dinner was ready. The photo does not do any justice to the deliciousness of the dish

Shepherd's pie(Ground lamb topped with mashed potato and baked)

Shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie dinner

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb ground lamb
2. 1 medium zucchini cubed into 1 cm pieces
3. 1 large carrot cubed int 1 cm pices
4. 1 cup chopped onions
5. 2 large or 4 medium garlic pods chopped fine
6. 1 tablespoon oil
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of fresh ground pepper, thyme, rosemary
8. 1 heaped tablespoon flour
9. 1 cup chicken broth
10. 1 teaspoon salt divided
11. 3 large or 5 medium russet potatoes boiled.
12. 1/2 cup milk
13. 2 tbsp+ 1 tablespoon butter
14. 1 cup cheddar cheese

Peel the boiled potatoes and mash them with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper , milk and 1 tbsp butter till they become smooth. Set aside

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions for 5 minutes. Add carrot and zucchini and fry for 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add ground meat/lamb and fry for 10 minutes or cooked through. Add the rest of the salt and pepper and the spices. Add the flour and stir well. Add the chicken broth and stir to combine. Cut the heat.

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray non stick cooking spray in a rectangle pan. Add the meat mixture to it. Top it with the mashed potato and smooth it out. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and dot with butter. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving

Masoor Khichidi, Sheek Kabab aur Dahi Raita

Today being the day light saving day, everything happens late. I did change my clocks last night but in the morning I was still going by my biological clock and I didn't start cooking atleast by 12 PM. I had to cook something fast, ofcourse I put the ground meat to thaw in the morning itself. So the menu for the afternoon is Masoor ki Khichidi with Cauliflower, yummy Sheek kabaab with ground lamb and easy yogurt raita
Masoor Khichidi (Rice with Red Lentils)

Masoor pulao with carrots in a clay pot

Sheek Kabab with Masoor Khichidi

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups uncooked basmati rice washed and soaked in water for 15 minutes
2. 1/2 cup masoor dal
3. 1 tablespoons oil
4. 1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
5. 2-3 cloves and 1 inch cinnamon broken into 3-4 pieces
6. 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
7. 2 cups chopped cauliflower florets
8. 2 green chillies slit
9. 3/4 teaspoon salt

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till they start changing color. Add ginger-garlic paste and the cloves and cinnamon and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the slit green chillies and cauliflower and fry for a few minute. Add 3 cups of water (1: 1.5 rice:water) and add salt to it and bring it to a boil. Dry roast Masoor dal this before hand, it will enhance the taste of the khichidi). Close the cooker and cook for 3 whistles. Let the steam escape, open the cooker and serve hot with Sheek Kabaab  and Yogurt Raita

Sheek Kabab ( Ground lamb mixed with spices and baked)
Ingredients:

1. 1 lb ground lamb
2. 1/2 medium sized red onion chopped fine
3. 1-2 green chillies chopped fine
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger-garlic paste
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 cup bread crumbs
7. 2 teaspoons oil
8. 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground blackpepper
9. 1 tablespoon milk
10. 1 egg beaten

Mix all the ingredients together with a light hand. Divide it into 8-10 equal parts and make it into little logs on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the logs of sheek kabab and bake further for 10 more minutes. Serve as an appetizer or as a side dish

Here is the recipe for Dahi/Yogurt Raita