A Bitten Word Recipe
Our kitchen has a bad case of the Overflowing Spice Rack.
Not to look a spice-gift horse in the mouth, but between wedding gifts and impulse purchases, we've got just about any kind of spice, rub or salt that you could name. (We're still looking for a fun recipe to use our newly acquired Urfa Biber.)
On the one hand, this is extremely convenient, not having to run to the supermarket every time we're cooking. On the other hand, these spices won't last forever and we hate to see them slink slowly into the back of the spice rack, never to be seen again.
So this was a recipe borne both out of cravings and need.
First, the craving: After two weeks in South America, we've been thrilled to be able to cook again. There's just something about being in your own kitchen and being able to make yourself a bowl of cereal that's terribly comforting. We loved our binge on Argentine steak, but making roast chicken, turkey and, yes, meatloaf has been a nice change of pace since our return.
Then came the need: As we mentioned, we are stocked when it comes to spices, and we're feeling the need to put some of our under-utilized spices (especially coriander and turmeric) to use before they go bad. Plus, our fantastic house-sitter left some food at the house, including a package of ground turkey. (There's also a package of firm tofu we need to figure out what to do with. AND he left us peanut butter, which pretty much makes him the best house-sitter ever.)
So facing both rumbling tummies and a spice rack threatening to overtake the rest of our kitchen, we decided to wing it and experiment with making an Indian-Spiced Turkey Meatloaf.
Let's see how we did!
But we still needed something to give it even more flavor.
We like the idea of topping meatloaf with ketchup prior to baking, but regular ol' Heinz would have been too traditional here. As a solution, we quickly made an Indian-flavored ketchup, mixing in turmeric and hot curry powder to give the ketchup a kick.
The meatloaf itself was very good -- full of flavor, and the Indian spices really came through. But the spiced ketchup really made it sing: The combo ended up hot and spicy -- but not too much -- infused with the warm, exotic flavors of Indian food.
We were extremely pleased with the result, and we're glad to have another option for mixing up our turkey meatloaf routine.
Indian-Spiced Turkey Meatloaf with Spicy Indian Ketchup
A Recipe from TheBittenWord.com
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 large onions, diced
- 1 Tablespoon coriander
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1 Tablespoon turmeric
- 16 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 2 eggs
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots, saute until vegetables are soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add coriander, cumin and turmeric, stirring constantly until spices are fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring, allowing the mixture to thicken slightly, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. (CAN BE MADE AHEAD and refrigerated overnight).
Pre-heat oven 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, add the eggs, breaking up the yolks with a fork. Add turkey and bread crumbs, mixing until just combined. Add the tomato-vegetable mixture, stirring until combined. Divide the mix between two loaf pans. (If you do not have a loaf pan, you can make two free-form loafs on a large cookie sheet.)
Top with Spicy Indian Ketchup (see recipe below). Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until internal temperature is 165 degrees.
Spicy Indian Ketchup
A Recipe from TheBittenWord.com
1 cup ketchup
1 1/2 Tablespoon hot curry powder
1 1/2 Tablespoon turmeric
Using a fork or whisk, mix the spices into the ketchup until well combined. Taste the ketchup. Not spicy enough for you? Add some more curry powder and turmeric. Too spicy for you? Add a bit more ketchup to thin it out.
