Sunday, September 27, 2009

Indian MIL Savory Ground Turkey

Tonight I baked a delicious, zesty Glazed Lemon Bread from one of my favorite cooking sites. It came out of the pan at 9:30, and by 9:35 it was half gone.

And then I shared it with my family.

The recipe calls for a bit of cardamom, which I happen to have on hand because I have a couple of Indian recipes from my friend K-Rolly that my family enjoys. The first time I tried to buy cardamom at our local independent grocery store, they didn't have any on the shelves. When I asked the store owner about it, he told me, "Our inventory shows we have some, but if it's not on the shelf, it probably got stolen. It's a high-theft item." Who knew. Apparently cardamom is popular among shoplifters because it's very expensive--about $13 for 1.75 ounces.

Anyway, my friends have enjoyed my Indian food leftovers enough to ask for the recipe and make it themselves, so I thought I'd share it with the Internet. You're welcome.

Here's the recipe, slightly revised and cleverly re-named in honor of the woman who taught K-Rolly how to make it:

Indian Mother-in-Law Savory Ground Turkey

Tip: use fresh ginger and garlic for enhanced flavor.

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 small jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1" ginger, peeled and diced tiny
2 medium potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2" dice
5 cloves garlic, peeled and diced tiny or crushed
1 - 1.25 lbs. ground turkey
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 c. frozen peas

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in non-stick frying pan or wok on high heat.
2. Add onion, pepper, tomato, and ginger. Cook until onion is clear, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add potatoes and cook another 10 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Remove everything from pan and set aside.
5. Heat remaining 1 tbsp. oil in pan on high heat.
6. Add ground turkey and salt; cook 10 minutes on medium heat until turkey is no longer pink.
7. Add vegetables mixture back in to pan. Add spices (clove, cinnamon and cardamom); cook another 10 minutes.
8. Add peas and cook until most moisture is gone and peas are cooked, about 8-10 minutes.

Serve over rice. Serves 6-8.

Nutritional Information: Well, let's see. This recipe is mostly vegetables, uses a low-fat protein source, and calls for only 2 Tbsp of oil and 1 tsp of salt, so I'm going to say it scores a 9 on the E. Peevie NutritionMeter. You can up it to 10 if you serve it over brown rice.

Of course, the NutritionMeter is completely fictitious, so you can up it to 10 even if you serve it over M&Ms.

5 comments:

Kristen said...

I never knew cardamom was so expensive!! I always buy mine in bulk from the Indian store (other spices are often cheaper there too, though I don't know why). My mother-in-law would be quite honored to know she's made it onto the internet:-)

Unknown said...

Yes, I can get most spices cheaper in bulk at the store I mentioned--but not cardamom.

I don't know how much of an honor it is to be "on the internet,"--I think it's more like being "on the earth"--but please invite your MIL to be a regular follower of The Green Room. We're having a membership drive.

boneyard said...

recipe sounds awful. Please e-mail a serving to me that I might try it. No doubt it would taste fine. Food was never meant to be listened to.

Anonymous said...

E.Peevie: great spice store that carries everything plus some wonderful blends: penzeys.com

JK said...

I have made this hand-me-down recipe several times and LOVE it!! You've inspired me to bring out again soon. Thanks K & E.