Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with Lentil Crust

From North to East to South to West… Each and every corner of the World has some or other exclusive culinary tradition and a secret…The ingredients are similar yet the flavors are different… The tricks are similar yet the cooks are different.. It’s one beautiful World with trillions of food creators and admirers…All we need is to travel and eat…Wish this could be so easier… 😀

Image cc: ©iStockphoto.com/AndreyGorulko

I bake and cook a lot.. It’s one of my favorite things to do…especially on a cozy Sunday noon when the lazy sun is up but the feel of winter is in the air… October is about to end while marking the beginning of one of the most awaited and lovely winters in India.. Season of fresh vegetables, cozy sunlights, warm food and lots of love is about to begin…And what could be a better way to say Hello to it with a warm baked dish? 🙂

This week’s my Foodie Monday Bloghop theme is Fusion Fiesta wherein we all have to come up with a unique fusion recipe. 🙂 Focusing on the same and after scrolling through hundreds of recipes, all I decided to fuse a classic Scottish dish with an irresistible Indian flavor and ingredient.

Presenting my classy recipe of Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with Lentil Crust. Infused with the authentic Scottish flavors and topped with the favorite Indian flavors, this recipe is one of the most celebrated innovation of all time. The filling is prepared with Mushrooms along with fresh vegetables like Peas, Carrots, Capsicum, Beans etc in European spices and topped with flavorful Indian Red Masoor Dal (Lentil) with Indian spices.

Shepherd’s Pie probably originated in Scotland and in the north of England. Originally, it was made from chunks of meat, probably leftover from a roast, as mincing machines weren’t invented until the 1870s. The filling is further topped with mashed potatoes and baked till perfection. [ Wikipedia] However, giving it a nutritious and fusion twist, I topped it with Red lentil mash and baked it till golden. 🙂 Flavors are similar yet nutritional value is quite high.

Let’s have a look on the recipe.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 20 mins

Baking time: 20 mins

Ingredients

For the filling

• 1 pack Mushrooms – Sliced
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper – Sliced
• 1/2 cup Boiled peas
• 1 Carrot – Sliced
• 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1 Onion – Sliced
• 3 Tbsp Tomato Puree
• 1 Tbsp Tomato Sauce
• 1 tsp Sprig Italian Spice
• 1 tsp Basil grounded
• 1 tsp Butter + Olive oil
• Salt as per taste
• Pepper as per taste
• 1/2 cup Cheese grated

For the Crust

• 1 cup Red Masoor Dal ( Lentil)
• 1 medium onion – Chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1 cup vegetable stock or 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp butter

Method

• For the filling, fry ginger garlic paste + onions. Once done, add all the vegetables and saute well. Add spices and tomato puree. Fry for 2 mins. Add tomato sauce
• Mix everything well ( apart from Cheese) and let it simmer. Once done, remove the filling from the pan and let it cool down
• Now in a separate pot, fry ginger garlic and onions. Put Masoor dal and spices. Fry well. [ Please read the note section before the next step ]
• Add stock or water. Cover the lid and let it simmer till it’s done
• Once done, let it cool down. You need not to mash it as it’s already prepared well. Stiff if required, follow the instructions shared in the notes section
• Now, in a baking dish, arrange the Vegetable filling alternately with a layer of cheese
• Top it with the Red Lentil crust placed smoothly while covering the entire filling

• I saved 2 tbsp of the lentil mixture to pipe the top gracefully thus giving a new dimension to my pie 🙂
• Bake well for 20 mins @ 150 degrees. Serve hot with wine or a coke! 🙂

Note: 

• Use red lentils only for this dish as Red lentils disintegrate entirely upon cooking, and you need not to mash them. Other lentils usually hold their lovely little shapes when they cook hence will not give you desired look of the product.

• Your lentil mixture needs to be crumbly enough to give a nice texture to the dish. If you add too much liquid to your lentils, strain the mixture briefly, or add about 1 tsp of cornstarch to help it thicken

  

  

  This Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with Lentil crust is a very beautiful delicacy with a crazy twist of ingredients… It’s inspired from the food blog Diversivore…Thanks to the amazing Chef Sien Bromilow who invented it. 🙂

   

  Submitting this recipe to Angies Fiesta Friday too wherein the co-hosts for this week are:  Monika @ Everyday Healthy Recipes and Sandhya @ Indfused

  For amazing discussions around the cuisines of the World, join my Facebook Food group – From the diaries of great cooks!

  

  Let’s also get connected on Instagram – @KrispyKadhai 🙂

  

  Bon appetito! 🙂