Rick Stein's Shepherd's Pie As Cooked in India

Found this in Delicious magazine. It's a different way of making Shepherd's Pie, and one I really like. It takes a bit of time, but you could do the prep beforehand and bake it just before you need it. I use Bart's tamarind paste. The recipe suggests that this goes well with a bottle of Australian Cabernet-Shiraz. Well, who am I to argue on that one?

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  sunflower oil
• 1  onion, finely chopped
• 4  garlic cloves, crushed
• 1  inch  piece fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1  kg lean ground lamb
• 1  small red chile, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1  teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1  tablespoon ground coriander
• 1  tablespoon ground cumin
• 1  ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1  tablespoon tomato puree
• 1  teaspoon tamarind paste
• 1 1⁄4 kg floury potatoes, cut into chunks
• 50  g unsalted butter
• 2 -3  tablespoons milk
• 300  ml  chicken stock, hot
• 1⁄4 cup fresh coriander, chopped

Directions

1. Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring 10 minutes until onion is just starting to colour. Add lamb and cook 5 minutes to brown. Tip into a colander and rest to drain excess fat.
2. Return meat to pan and add chilli, turmeric, coriander and cumin. Cook 1 more minute. Stir in tomato, tomato puree, tamarind and stock. Season and simmer 25 minutes (lamb should still be fairly moist). Stir in fresh coriander.
3. Transfer meat mixture to an ovenproof dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C, gas mark 6.
4. For the potato topping, place potatoes in a large pan of salted water, boil, and simmer until tender. Drain, return to pan and mash with a potato masher (I use a potato ricer - no lumps!). Add butter and enough milk to form a spreadable mash.
5. Spoon potato topping over lamb. Bake in oven 30 minutes until hot and golden.
6. Spoon p.