Jaffna Goat Curry Shepherd's Pie
This Thanksgiving weekend we’re giving you our very own home made Jaffna Goat Curry Shepherd’s Pie recipe to enjoy with your friends and family! This is made with the signature meat dish of Sri Lankan Tamils. This is a long recipe but we promise it is well worth it! Make sure to read through the entire recipe before getting to work. This dish will serve 10 to 12 people
Ingredients and Method for Whipped potatoes
- 4 lbs Russet potatoes (peeled and quartered)
- 7 tbsp of butter
- 2 1/2 cup whole milk/homo milk
- Salt to taste
- Bring a heavy bottom pot of salted water to a boil
- Add potatoes to salted water and cook for 15 to 20 mins until tender (but still holds its shape)
- Drain potatoes and keep aside
- In a small saucepan, bring milk to a boil and turn off
- Add butter to milk and stir until melted
- Slowly pour liquid into potatoes and whisk until it is smooth
- Season with salt to taste
- For a smoother consistency, pass through a potato ricer
- Fill piping bags with potato mixture (optional for better presentation) and leave aside
Preparing the goat curry
- Use our Jaffna Meat Curry Paste!
- All you have to do is cook the 2.5 kilos of meat with 2 500mL bottles of Jaffna Meat Curry Paste and you’re ready to go!
Method for goat curry:
- Place a large pot on medium high heat
- Add a small amount of oil and let it heat
- Add goat into the same pot
- Cook partially covered for 15-20mins and stir the pot occasionally.
- When the meat starts releasing its juices, add the remaining Jaffna curry powder and a pinch of salt
- Bring the pot to a boil, then turn to medium low heat and cook until the liquid has reduced down to a thick gravy
- You can reduce it more or less if you prefer a thicker or looser gravy
- Our way to do it is to reduce the gravy almost by half, for a more rich flavoured gravy
- Once your gravy is at the consistency you prefer, add some fresh torn curry leaves, add salt to taste!
- Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice!
Assembling:
- Fill baking dish or cast iron pan half way with goat curry, which has cooled to room temperature (this is based on your preference, but we like to do a 50/50 of curry to potato ratio)
- Once half of the dish or pan is filled with the goat curry, use the piping bag, which you have filled, to drop dollops of potato over the curry until it is fully covered (if you don’t have a piping bag, spoon potatoes over and smooth out with a spatula)
- You can store this dish in the fridge for up to two days!
Garnish ingredients and method:
- Handful of panko breadcrumbs
- Generous amount of grated parmigiano-reggiano
- Splash of extra virgin olive oil
- Mix the above ingredients together and sprinkle this over the dish
To serve:
- Preheat oven to 400° F
- Bake dish for 10 to 15 mins or until golden brown on top
- Once out of the oven, let it sit for 5 mins before serving
Bon appétit!
