Chicken Shepherd's Pie

SHEPHERD’S PIE is meat dish that is baked with creamy mashed potatoes as its crust. The pie was know as cottage pie in the 1700’s and basically made from any kind of leftover meat and it was in 1800’s that it was came be to known as Shepherd's pie regardless of the meant that goes in the dish. 

 This is a British classic and I adapted Jamie Oliver’s Shepherd Pie recipe. Well he wouldn't believe the number of changes I made to his recipe to suit my Indian palate. The ‘You Will Need’ list may look endless but trust me this is the easiest pie of all. I have just thrown in all my favourite veggies and chicken in the pie and added a little more spice to suite my palate. 

Doesn't he look gorgeous? Just a little fancy work ;) and all set to go into the oven.

Checkout the gravy oozing in the ends...ahhh....Slurp!!!

Like many first timers, I had my doubts on this recipe too that it may turn out too bland for my Indian taste buds. But the mixed veggies were perfect and the mashed potato was unbelievably soft and creamy when it came out of the oven. This was an instant hit at out dinner table. So Get creative, throw in your favourite veggies and meat and I promise you will love it just like we did.

You Will Need:

For the Gravy

350g of Minced Chicken
A tbsp of Plain Flour 

1/2 Cup of Cooked Green Peas

1/2 Bell Pepper, Chopped

1 Large Onion, Finely Chopped

2 Medium Carrots, Chopped

250g of Button Mushroom, Sliced

Cup of Tomato Puree ( 3 – 4 Large Tomatoes pureed)
2 tbsp of Tomato Ketchup / A tbsp of Tomato paste

1/2 Cup to A cup of Chicken Stock / Water
1/2 tsp of Dried Basil
1/2 tsp of Cumin Powder
1/2 tsp of Chilli Flakes
1/2 Tsp of Dried Thyme 

Freshly Crushed Black Pepper Corns

Salt to Taste

3 Tbsp Oil

For the Mashed Potato

5 Potatoes, Medium Sized

100 ml Whole Milk 

A knob of Butter

Salt & Pepper to Season

The Cooking:

Heat oil on a heavy bottom sauce pan and add the onions. Sauté for a min or two and add the carrot and bell pepper. Stir well and add in the minced chicken. Mix well and sprinkle the flour. The flour browns the meat and gives thickness to the gravy. Cook on medium high till the chicken turns little brown. Then add the mushrooms and saute till they turn golden brown. Pour in the tomato puree and stock / water. Add salt, pepper, cumin powder, chilli flakes, thyme and basil. Bring this to a boil and cook on medium low heat for another 20 – 25 min or till the excess water has evaporated and the gravy has thickened. 

Preheat your oven to 250c for 10  -15mins. 

For the Mashed potato, cook the potatoes until they are soft. Peel the skin off and place them in a bowl. Now mash them well. Slowly add the milk and butter mashing everything together. Season with salt and pepper. The mashed potatoes need to be smooth and not lumpy.

I have used my round cake tin to bake this pie. Round, square anything will do. Now, layer the bottom of the baking dish or pie dish with the gravy. Make sure they are nice and evenly spread. Now top this off with a layer of the mashed potatoes. Be gentle when spreading. You don't want the veggies and mashed potatoes to get mixed like crazy with each other. I wanted it to look a little sophisticated. So I have piped a simple star pattern :) Dribble little oil over the pie and bake in the oven for 30 - 40 mins. 

Serve hot with your favourite stir fry.

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Happy Baking!