Chicken Shepherd's pie with desi twist

How can "chicken" be a shepherd’s pie? It can be because “I” wanted it to be so. Being a hardcore “chickenterian”, I tried to give chicken a different casserole avatar with the fusion of Italian and Indian flavors . The result was pure deliciousness and we devoured it with all love and lust. In my recipe, I have attempted to add veggies and my all-time favorite potatoes. Though the recipe may look like a long process, you just need to be organized in your preparation and then it would seem easy. So do try it for special Sunday brunch and enjoy!!

Chicken Shepherd's pie with desi twist

Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients:

Potatoes (medium) - 4(sliced into thin roundels)

Chicken mince- 450 gms

Carrots- 3 (finely chopped)

Mushrooms – 1 ¼ cup (finely chopped)

Sweet corn- 1 small bowl

Capsicum (medium) - 1 (finely chopped)

Onions (medium)-2 (finely chopped)

Garlic- 3 tbsp. (finely chopped)

Oregano- 2 tbsp.

Black pepper-2 tbsp. + 1 tbsp.

Marinara sauce- 3 tbsp.

Tomato ketchup- as preferred

Turmeric powder- ½ tsp.

Garam masala- 3 tsp.

Mozarella+ processed cheese-1 ½  cup

Coriander leaves- 4 tbsp.

Oil- 3 tbsp. + 2 tsp.

Salt to taste

Procedure :

 Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan and add the chicken mince and salt. Cover and cook till the water has dried up. Then add oregano and black peeper powder (1 tbsp.), cover and cook till done. Meanwhile in another pan take about 1 tbsp. oil, add garlic and after it is fried add, onion. Sauté it for 2 minutes and then add carrots, capsicum, mushroom. Cover and cook for another 3 minutes. Then add sweet corn, marinara sauce and black pepper powder (1 tbsp.). Cover and cook till it’s done. After that heat about 1 tbsp. oil, add the sliced potato roundels, salt and turmeric powder. Cover and cook till the potatoes are fried on both sides.  

Now it is time for assembling all of them in a casserole. Take a baking dish, massage about 2 tsp oil in the dish. Firstly, layer the fried potatoes, then vegetables, corn and mushroom. Cover it with a layer of cheese. Sprinkle some garam masala, tomato ketchup and coriander leaves. Then layer it with chicken mince and cheese with some garam masala, tomato ketchup and coriander leaves. Follow the process and end with a layer of fried potatoes on the sides and lots of cheese with coriander leaves, tomato ketchup and garam masala. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree Celsius and bake for 15-20 minutes.

 Chicken Shepherd's pie with desi twist tastes best with some hot soup and garlic bread.

Notes:

Marinara sauce has strong tangy flavor, so I suggest using tomato ketchup as per your preference.

I have used tinned button mushrooms in this recipe.

I have used lot of cheese as I like it that way. You may reduce the quantity of cheese if you don’t like it way too cheesy.