Shepherd's Pie with Curried Meat

I was first introduced to shepherd's pie in high school by a family I babysat for. I was then reminded of this dish when I visited Nashville last November. I saw that this dish used curried meat so I was tempted to make it. All in all, great comfort food, love the addition of curry. This recipe is by Craig Claiborne, as seen in Essential NYTimes Cookbook. I look forward to making this again.

The Ingredients...

• 6 white potatoes (about  1 1/2 pounds)
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon peanut, vegetable, or corn oil
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon  ground coriander
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 cup crushed canned imported tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups cooked fresh or frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup hot whole milk, plus more if needed
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions...

1. Put the potatoes into a pot and add water to cover and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and cook  for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are  tender to the core when pierced with a fork.
2. While the potatoes cook, heat the oil in a large skilled. Add  the onions and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted. Add the curry powder, cumin, and coriander and cook briefly, stirring. Add the meat and cook, stirring down with the side of a heavy kitchen spoon to break up the lumps, until it's lost its raw color. Add the tomatoes, broth, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Heat the broiler. Drain the potatoes and mash the potatoes in the hot pot. Stir in the peas and heat briefly. Add the hot milk, 2 tablespoons butter, and  pepper, preferably white, beating with a wooden spoon. If the mixture is too thick, add more hot milk.
4. Spoon the piping-hot curried meat into a 2 1/2 quart baking dish (I used a casserole dish). Top with the hot mashed potatoes. Smooth over the top. Dot with the remaining tablespoon of butter.
5. Run the mixture under the broiler until the top is golden brown.

Serves 4 to 6.