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Masala shepherd's pie was born out of the desire for us to have the textures, mix of vegetables, the heartiness and satisfaction that comes with a shepherd's pie but injected with more flavour. This recipe has the warmth of indian spices but is very mild so perfect for the whole family, even my 2 year old loves it (and she can only tolerate very mild food) 

 

Ingredients list:

 

Pie filling: 

• Dried mung beans - 3 cups

• Potatoes - 8-10 small-medium sized

• Red onion - 1

• Carrots - 2

• Zucchini - 2

• Mushrooms - 2 cups

• Curry leaves - 8-10

• Curry powder (Mild) - 2 tablespoons

• Garlic powder - 1 tablespoon 

• Balsamic vinegar - 2 tablespoons

• Salt to taste 

• 1 cup water 

 

Masala Potato Mash:

• Mustard seeds - ½ teaspoon 

• Garlic powder - 1 tablespoon 

• Turmeric - ¾ teaspoon

• Curry leaves - 6-8 

• Salt to taste

 

Method:

Soak your 3 cups of dried mung beans in at least twice as much water (so 6 cups, I sometimes add 7 cups). If you want to speed up the process, soak in just boiled water. Then place in a warm part of your house to allow to sprout, to achieve the amount of sprouting as shown in the recipe video I soaked the beans for around 20 hours (started soaking from 9pm the previous night and cooked them at 5pm the following day)

To cook your mung beans, place them in a large pot and add water until the beans are covered. Boil until the beans are soft (can be mashed between your fingers) takes approximately 20 minutes. Then drain the water and set aside. 

 

Then peel and chop your potatoes into 1 inch-sized pieces, boil in water over medium heat until soft. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Then drain the water and set aside. 

 

The next step is to cook your vegetables for the filling. First, place your non-stick pan on medium heat and once hot add your onions and curry leaves, cook until the onions become soft and the curry leaves become fragrant. Add your vegetables (carrots, zucchini, mushrooms), then add your curry powder, garlic powder, balsamic vinegar and salt, stir until combined. Add water, stir and cover for 5-7 minutes. Add your already sprouted and cooked mung beans, mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.

 

For masala potato topping, heat your non-stick pan on medium. Once the pan is hot add your mustard seeds, once the mustard seeds start to pop add your curry leaves and cook until the curry leaves become fragrant. Add your already cooked potato, turmeric, garlic powder and salt, combine then mash. I use a stainless steel masher but am careful to ensure that it doesn’t scrape the non-stick pan, you could always place the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mash - this is one of my ways of saving up on washing :) 

 

Finally, we can assemble the shepherd's pie. Place your mung bean mix into an oven proof dish, as I mentioned in my recipe video, other than ensuring it is big enough it doesn’t matter what dimensions the dish is, it will either be thicker or not as thick depending on what you have. The key thing is that the ingredients get heated through and you see a slight crust on the potato topping.

 

Bake at 180 degrees celsius/356 degrees fahrenheit for 20-30 minutes approx. 

 

Serve with a salad and citrus or balsamic vinegar dressing.

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