Make Ahead

Peanut-Free Thai Dipping Sauce With Masoor Dal

by:
February  9, 2015
4.3
3 Ratings
  • Makes 1.5 cups
Author Notes

Julia Child said, "The only real stumbling block of fear is failure. In cooking you've got to
have a what-the-hell attitude." Armed with lentils and bravery, I originally planned to make curry-lentil chocolate truffles, but couldn't get the texture right. My roommate happened to walk by and squeal, "Oh my God, your peanut sauce smells AMAZING..." I realized that, while my truffle idea totally failed, I'd managed to make vegan, peanut-allergy-friendly Thai dipping sauce that tastes just as good as its peanut counterpart! I can't tell you why this works, but it definitely does and will probably be my new go-to for spring roll-dunking, grain bowl-saucing, and tofu-marinating. —Rose

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Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup Masoor Dal (Orange Split Lentils)
  • 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons red curry paste (make sure it doesn't have shrimp for vegan)
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar (add more or less to taste depending on desired sweetness)
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk
Directions
  1. 1. Rinse lentils under mesh strainer until the water runs clear and pick away any stones.
  2. 2. Add rinsed lentils, almond milk, cinnamon, ginger and salt to a medium-sized pot, and heat over medium-high until boiling, uncovered.
  3. 3. Once boiling, cover with a lid and reduce to simmer for twenty minutes or until lentils are thoroughly cooked and "thick sauce-like." Keep an eye on it and stir occasionally, as almond milk will easily froth up and boil over.
  4. 4. Remove from heat, and stir sugar and curry paste into lentils. Once thoroughly mixed, swirl in coconut milk and stir until smooth and creamy. Can be served immediately, room temperature, or chilled. Note that it will be thicker once chilled and adding a bit of warm coconut milk will thin it out more again without losing body or flavor.
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4 Reviews

susan G. February 14, 2015
Trying soon for the peanut-free in the family - and for the rest of us, too.
Rose February 19, 2015
Awesome, I hope it's great! Let me know how it goes and if you make any delicious tweaks :)
Willow M. February 10, 2015
This sounds delicious! Great alternative to peanuts.
Rose February 19, 2015
I hope you love! Good luck and let me know if you made any yummy changes :)