Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

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Spice up your Christmas leftovers with my Easy Leftover Turkey Curry. A delicious aromatic curry of cooked turkey, onions and peppers in a creamy, spicy masala sauce.

It’s a great way to use up leftover roast turkey from Christmas or Thanksgiving. Easy, quick and made from scratch with pantry staples.

This spicy treat can be on your Boxing Day table in just 40 minutes.

The secret to the best leftover turkey curry is to cook the spicy masala sauce first. After that, just add the cooked turkey and yogurt and heat through for 5 to 10 minutes. The result is succulent tender pieces of turkey as you’ve removed the risk of toughening the meat through over-cooking.

Start by softening the onion, add the Indian spices and then simmering the tomatoes and peppers. Add the creamy Greek yogurt and leftover turkey chunks and heat through until piping hot. And there you have it.

Easy leftover turkey curry, a real crowd pleaser and the perfect answer to what to do with turkey leftovers.

We love creamy turkey curry with homemade naan bread from our stash in the freezer. Any leftover roast potatoes ? Give them my easy Bombay Potatoes treatment and you’ll have a Boxing Day Indian feast.

After all the rush and prep beforehand and then Christmas Day itself, we like to enjoy a relaxing Boxing Day. That includes easy, quick comfort food to enjoy whilst watching a Boxing Day film.

We take it in turns to choose the menu, the only stipulation being that we use leftovers. Last year OH chose Leftover Turkey and Ham Pie – with a side of homemade oven chips and half a naan !

Why you’ll love this recipe

Here’s why this is the best leftover turkey curry recipe.

• The masala sauce is made first so you don’t overcook the succulent leftover turkey and turn it into tough meat.
• Made with pantry and fridge staples.
• It’s adaptable – add a bit more heat or tone it down with more or less chilli flakes. And if you haven’t got the individual spices, use a couple of tablespoons of curry powder.
• Each generous serving comes in at just under 300 calories.

What equipment do I need ?

• Shallow casserole pan – I used an enamelled cast iron shallow casserole which enables the curry to cook quicker.
• Digital cooking thermometer – Optional: I used my Thermapen to check the temperature of the cooked turkey.

What ingredients do I need ?

• Onions – I’ve used brown onions, diced.
• Bell pepper – I’ve just used one red pepper sliced
• Leftover turkey – I like to use the lower fat content breast meat but leg or thigh meat works too.
• Garlic, tomato paste, salt and fresh ginger form the body for the spicy tomato based sauce.
• Indian spices – ground cumin seeds, ground coriander, turmeric, chilli flakes, black pepper and garam masala. If you don’t want to buy all the individual spices just to make this curry, there is an alternative. You can simply add 2 tablespoons of medium curry powder instead.
• Passata – sieved tomatoes give a naturally thick and smooth sauce with no need for additional thickeners.
• Greek yogurt – use regular Greek yogurt. Low fat or fat free yogurt will split the masala sauce.
• Coriander/ cilantro – optional but adding a vibrancy to the finished curry.

How to make Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

• Heat oil in a shallow casserole dish and add diced onions and salt.
• Cover with lid and leave the onions to soften.

• Add the spices, ginger, garlic and tomato puree before frying gently for a couple of minutes.
• Stir in passata and sliced red bell pepper and simmer.

• Add yogurt and leftover cooked turkey and bring back to a simmer. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes until the turkey is piping hot all the way through.

• I like to use my digital cooking thermometer to check the turkey is thoroughly cooked. The temperature reading should be at least 70 C / 158 F when inserted into a chunk of turkey meat.

• Sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander and serve.

How To Serve Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

Serve with homemade naan bread or rice.
For a full-on homemade takeaway night why not try our Bombay Potatoes with your Easy Leftover Turkey Curry ?

Recipe FAQs

More Indian Style Curry Recipes….

• Beef Madras Curry
• Kerala Style Chicken Curry
• Slow Cooker Chicken Balti
• Slow Cooker Chicken Jalfrezi

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Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

Spice up your Christmas leftovers with my Easy Leftover Turkey Curry. A delicious aromatic curry of cooked turkey, onions and peppers in a creamy, spicy masala sauce.

It's a great way to use up leftover roast turkey from Christmas or Thanksgiving. Easy, quick and made from scratch with pantry staples. This spicy treat can be on your Boxing Day table in just 40 minutes.

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5 from 43 votes

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Course: Main

Cuisine: British Indian

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 293kcal

Author: Sarah James

Equipment

• Shallow casserole pan I used an enamelled cast iron shallow casserole
• Digital cooking thermometer Optional: to check the temperature of the cooked turkey.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons rapeseed / Canola oil
• 1 onion finely diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 3 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree / paste
• 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 440 g passata / sieved tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper sliced
• 200 g Greek yogurt
• 500 g leftover cooked turkey meat cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander / cilantro

MetricUS Customary

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Instructions

• Heat oil in a shallow casserole dish and add diced onions. Add salt and stir.
• Cover casserole with lid and leave the onions to soften for 5 minutes on a gentle heat.
• Add the spices, ginger, garlic and tomato puree and fry gently for a couple of minutes.
• Stir in passata and sliced red bell pepper and simmer for 25 minutes with the lid on.
• Add yogurt and leftover cooked turkey and bring back to a simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. The turkey needs to be piping hot all the way through. If using a digital food probe thermometer, select a large chunk of turkey meat to test. The temperature reading should be at least 70 C / 158 F.
• Sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander and serve with rice or naan breads.

Notes

• Substitute 2 tablespoons of medium curry powder instead of individual spices.
• Use regular Greek yogurt. Low fat or fat free yogurt will split the masala sauce.
• Not suitable for reheating or freezing. Food safety guidelines advise against reheating leftovers more than once because of the risk of food poisoning.
• Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 792mg | Potassium: 1033mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1715IU | Vitamin C: 53mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 5mg