Top of the Mornin' India

Shepherd's pie is a traditional dish that has been made for over 2 hundred years by cooking chopped lamb or mutton with gravy and topped with mashed potatoes


The family took a trip when I was 11 to England and rented a van to travel up to Scotland.
In London, I was dazzled by Sherlock Holmes' house, the wax figures at Madame Toussaud's, the expansiveness of Big Ben, the feeling of history in the Globe Theatre
I remember we so lavishly dined at Johnny Rockets before seeing Mama Mia-I sang/listened Abba and only Abba for months-
On our UK roadtrip- Mimi taught me how to knit-

One night between London and Edinburgh, in a small, dark, greenish restaurant, I ordered Shepherd's Pie.  I remember mom first being worried i wouldn't like it-then she quickly remembered who i was.


it was soft and heavy-but felt good in my belly.
but unfortunately, i dont remember it being all that flavorful

This shepherd's pie is rather unlike the above description.

For-its vegetarian, uses Indian spices, and there are no mashed potatoes.

You ask, "Is this really a Shepherd's pie then?"

I still say, yes.

I've actually been making this dish in my head for a long while-
A rather unusual process for me-
But I have been pondering combining these two very traditional cultures in 1 pyrex, trying to make it something spectacular
I've been looking forward to it
I waited till I had several hours to prepare it, enjoy it, ect.
This opportunity rarely arises-
But one Sunday afternoon when I finally had a little time to do nothing-i realized i couldn't just do nothing! I would finally make my Shephard's Pie!  

it was rather simple-
I slowly roasted my vegetables-eggplant, italian baby squash, sweet onion, brown button mushrooms-with turmeric, sweet/hot paprika, cumin, coriander, mustard
I cooked garbanzos with just a pinch of salt-and since the food processor died :( i mashed them by hand with a ton of mint and just a bit of greek yogurt


Veg first, Mashed beans on top-
And into the oven


It was a perfect combination-
the spicy, almost over seasoned vegetables exploding with indian flavor-
mashed with the cool, refreshing minty beans 


What a Balance
How zen 


I tried to eat only half and leave some for my roommate or someone to try and revel in my genius skills-
I really tried!
But i couldn't help myself-
I ate it all up :)