Spices and aroma: Ground turkey and lettuce salad

When I was talking to my husband about my achi's (grandmother) mutton kheema curry, I was reminiscing her dishes I have tasted during my childhood. She would serve the curry with plain white rice and deep fried pappad followed by a glass of chilled buttermilk. My achi is a creative home cook who would set the dining table with chicken, fish, rasam, eggs and vegetable - all in one meal. She would fed us everyday with 4-6 dishes and she will never run out of ideas. You can find her easy Indian recipes here.

I was craving for this curry for quite sometime. Since most of meals are without rice at the moment (Click to know why), I re-created a Indian style kheema with turkey. Extra-lean ground turkey was tossed over lettuce mix and few dollops of a creamy dressing was spooned on top.

Ground turkey is seasoned in basic turmeric,chili and coriander powder mix. They were cooked in little water with ginger-garlic paste and onions. I made a very simple dressing with non fat yogurt, low-fat mayonnaise and non-fat sour cream. This salad is nutritious, low in calorie and outrageously delicious. You could also serve it as lettuce wraps. Just stuff the turkey curry and the dressing inside a clean lettuce leaf and rolling them into a cigar and serve. They will be an excellent party appetizer and the guests can indulge how much ever numbers they want. Totally guilt free!!!

Ingredients

For the turkey kheema

1-2 lb extra lean ground turkey

1-2 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 inch ginger - minced

2 garlic cloves - mined

1 large onion - chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilnatro - chopped

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1teaspoon red chili powder

2 teaspoon coriander powder

4 cups water

Salt to taste

For the dressing

2 tablespoon fat-free yogurt

1tablepoon low-fat mayonnaise

1 tablespoon non-fat sour cream

Juice of 1 lemon ( more or less as per taste)

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon dried dill leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1 bag -Mixed lettuce

Method

For the turkey kheema:

Heat oil in a large cooking pan. Once they are hot, add the minced ginger and garlic. Saute for 60 seconds. Then add the onions and sprinkle little salt to let it sweat. Cook for 10 minutes on medium flame and let it brown a bit.

Add the ground turkey and break them down to smaller bits. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle the turmeric, chili and coriander powder and mix well. Pour the water and cook covered for 30 minutes. Once they thicken, add the cilantro and mix well. Switch off the flame and let it cool.

For the dressing:

Mix the ingredients in the list and set them aside.

To serve:

Place the lettuce on a salad bowl, arrange the turkey kheema on top and splash the dressing around as little peaks.

The salad can be served with a healthy soup of your choice.