Indian-Spiced Cottage Pie

The inspiration for this recipe came from The Kitchn https://www.thekitchn.com/keema-cottage-pie-recipe-23432412. I immediately gravitated toward this idea of Indian spices in a cottage pie and thought it would make a perfect dinner for the week before Thanksgiving. But of course I immediately changed up the recipe considerably because I wanted less meat and more vegetables. I also made steamed the potatoes in the Instant Pot. In addition I took out the spice, as much because I didn’t have the exact ingredients in the pantry as that my kids are only into mildly spicy things.

Because I added so much veg, this made enough for two nights of dinner for 4 plus filling another night of dinner for the freezer (I’ll just make potatoes fresh when I pull it out of the freezer). Note that the veg listed below is what I used tonight but you could use whatever you wanted that sounded good like riced cauliflower or broccoli, more carrots, peppers, etc.

INGREDIENTS - FILLING

1 c. French/green/Puy lentils rinsed and picked over

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3 TBSP oil (I used avocado oil)

2 small to medium onions, chopped

2-inch piece of ginger, grated 

1 small can tomato paste (6 oz)

5-8 cloves garlic, minced or put through a press

1 TBSP garam masala

1 tsp New Mexico chili powder or 1-2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp kosher salt

1 lb ground beef 

1 small head cabbage finely chopped (I used the food processor)

1-3 carrots, finely chopped (ditto food processor)

1 c. frozen peas

1 c. water

INGREDIENTS - MASHED POTATOES

2 lb potatoes, a good masher like Yukon Gold, scrubbed and cut into large 2 inch chunks

3/4 c. milk

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp turmeric

2 TBSP unsalted butter

Grated nutmeg to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the lentils in the Instant Pot. Put the rinsed and picked over lentils in the Instant Pot and add enough water to cover as well as the 1/2 tsp salt. Make sure to put the valve to sealing and set for 10 minutes at high pressure. When they’re done, you can let it release pressure naturally or release it right away. Then drain and rinse the lentils and set aside. Rinse out the pot—you’ll use it again
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high and then add the onion and ginger. Cook until they’re soft and starting to turn golden
3. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook until the tomato paste darkens a bit
4. Add the garam masala, chili powder and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds or so
5. Add the ground beef and cook until it’s no longer pink
6. Add half of the water and deglaze the pan
7. Add the cabbage, peas and carrots and the remaining water. If it seems too dry, just add some more water
8. Put a lid on the pan and simmer on medium for 20 minutes or so
9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
10. While the mixture simmers, you can cook the potatoes in the Instant pot. I use the steamer insert and put a couple of cups of water below the steamer. Put the potato chunks in the steamer basket above the water and cook on high pressure for 8-10 minutes and then release the pressure
11. Taste mixture and adjust as needed. Add ground coriander, or smoked paprika, more salt etc
12. After releasing the pressure on the potatoes, heat the milk until steaming then stir in the spices and butter (I used a silicone measuring cup in the microwave)
13. Put the drained potatoes into a large bowl and add the spiced milk. Heretical as it is, I used the hand mixer on my potatoes to make a smooth mash that, yes, includes the peels. Taste and adjust the seasoning
14. Portion out the filling either in one 9x13 pan plus an 8x8 or among individual pie dishes as shown in the photo or freeze what you don’t intend to eat now. Top generously with the turmeric mashed potatoes and, if you like, make some fork patterns on the top. I put my pie dishes on one half-sheet pan to make it easier to get them in and out of the oven
15. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or so