Going for Mahalaxmi lunch and dinner(s) today... As per tradition, the Goddeses are to be treated with 16 types of vegetables and salads today. That's a great opportunity for making various mixed veggies, instead of making 16 different kinds...

My favourite combos:
Bhendi, aloo + carrots, with plenty of onions;
Parwal+ Aloo+Baingan+karela;
Cabbage+green peas+tomatoes+capsicum;
Cauliflower+mushrooms+corn+cottage cheese(paneer)

Try these and your own combos too; its fun to mix and match...

Shepherd's Pie

This is one dish i LOVE to make, and people love to eat - so as you can guess, i end up making it often, though i DO try and save it for special occasions only.
(About this dish - it is originally a poor 'shepherd' guy's dish invented in England. A combo of meat and potatoes that can be carried along as the fellow tends to his sheep all day outdoors. It has evolved over the years and in my hands has become even richer and not at all something the original cook would identify with at all!)

INGREDIENTS

• Minced meat (kheema) - 1/2 Kg
• Potatoes - 1/2 Kg, or more, if u like them!
• Onions - 2, chopped fine
• Tomatoes - 5-6 medium size, also chopped fine
• Capsicum - green, red, yellow ( any color u can find or ALL) : 3-4
• Garlic - half a pod, peeled and chopped ( at least 10 )
• Milk - two cups
• Cheese - use as much as u like! ( i used two cubes today)
• corn flour - one tbspoon
• Woosterchire sauce - one tablespoon
• Capsico sauce - one tsp
• Garnish of oregano, freshly ground black pepper, chilli flakes
• Butter - two tbsp
• olive oil or any cooking oil - 1/2 cup

Shepherd's pie consists of two main components - mashed potatoes and cooked kheema and veggies

HOW TO MAKE MASHED POTATOES

Peel the potatoes and cut them into large cubes. Cover them with water - about 3 cups - and leave to boil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan or kadai. When the potatoes or almost soft and water completely evaporated, add two cups milk, with cream if u like. Keep mashing the mix. When smooth and creamy, add salt,pepper, butter and grated cheese. Whisk together well. Keep the mashed potatoes aside for baking later.

HOW TO PREPARE THE MINCE

Wash the kheema and drain properly.

In a pressure pan/ cooker, cook it with some minced garlic and pepper and salt. ( Do not add water or oil is using a separator vessel. If cooking directly, just add a little oil so kheema does not burn). Cook for about 10 minutes after the first whistle of the cooker.

Now heat oil in a medium size kadai.

Add chopped garlic - the remaining - and onions. Brown nicely

Add Tomatoes -

Add enough salt for the veggies at this stage

When tomatoes partially cooked, add capsicums.

After about five minutes, add the cooked kheema - ( if it has become watery on cooking, u can remove some of it for the lucky dog! Or u can use it in cooking up the kheema further)

Add some garnish like black pepper and chilli at this stage.

Keep stirring till mixture almost dry - but not completely.

Dissolve one tbsp corn flour in a little water and add.

After two minutes add woostershire sauce and capsico.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE THE PIE

Take an over proof square or rectangular glass casserole. Oil the bottom. Put in the cooked kheema mixture and level it down. Now evenly spread the mashed potatoes over the kheema to cover it completely. Grate cheese to cover the mashed potatoes. Add  a dash of butter or olive oil. Sprinkle pepper and oregano. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes till cheese melts and turns reddish - NOT brown plz!!

The pie is ready to serve!