Curried Shepherd's Pie

4 -5 medium sized potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 pound ground beef or turkey
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons hot Madras curry powder
2 teaspoons ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 pound frozen vegetables, thawed (we like the fiesta style mix which includes broccoli, carrots, kidney beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, Italian green beans and red pepper.)
butter or margarine
salt & pepper

Put unpeeled potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil, cook approximately 25 minutes until tender. Rinse with cold water. Peel and then mash with butter or margarine add salt and pepper to taste.

Heat olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender and brown, about 7 minutes. Add the meat and cook until just browned. Add garlic, curry powder, tumeric and hot pepper flakes and cook until fragrant approximately 2 minutes.

Stir in the veggies. Put the meat and veggie mix into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Enjoy!!


Note: I cook my potatoes unpeeled and peel them later. This prevents the potatoes from absorbing too much water and makes for fluffier mashed potatoes.