Richa's Peanut Lentil Sauce

As I do periodically, a few weeks ago I went digging through old recipes I'd saved or tagged or noted in some way or another. I came across one from a blog I've been following for a while, leaned over to show it to Shana, who responded with "why aren't we eating that right now?!" I got her subtle message and we had it later that week.

While we both loved it, I realized I needed to make it again to make sure that the notes I'd jotted down about adjustments while cooking were actually correct (more than one note was a I-think-that's-what-I-remember-doing note). I'm thrilled to say it's still amazing. In the time it takes to cook rice in the instant pot and lentils on the stove (aka, less than 30 minutes), you can make a hearty, beautiful, flavorful meal that tastes like it belongs at a fancy dinner party.

Richa's Peanut Lentil Sauce
This is a lightly edited version of the recipe posted here. 

Ingredients
1/2 c. red lentils
1 med. onion, thinly sliced
1 small bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4 c. shredded carrots
1, 6-8 inch zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 c. light coconut milk
1 T. soy sauce
2 tsp. lime juice
2 cloves garlic
4 T. peanut butter
2 tsp. chopped cilantro
2 tsp. sriracha
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. tamarind concentrate
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
zest of half a lime

Directions
1. Add the lentils to 1 1/2 cups of water in a small pot on the stove, bring to a boil, with a lid half-off, and cook until the lentils have lost all of their form and just look kind of like a big mush. (If you plan to make rice, start it first.)
2. Slice all the veggies, then saute in a large skillet over medium high heat. Start with the onions; when they begin to soften, add the peppers and carrots; add the zucchini last.
3. Place all remaining ingredients into a blender and blend until well-combined.
4. When the veggies are done, add the peanut sauce to the skillet and stir to combine. Heat for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the lentils (plus whatever water is left) to the skillet, stirring well to combine. Cook for another couple of minutes to allow the flavors to combine.

Helpful Hints

• This dish is allergen-friendly, even though it may not seem like it! It is already gluten-free. If you replace the soy sauce with coconut aminos, it is soy-free. Finally, if you replace the peanut butter with almond butter, you're peanut-free as well!
• The way I instruct you to cook the lentils allows them to functionally disappear into the peanut sauce. This could be a sneaky way to get small humans to up their protein consumption. If you are making this for kids, you may want to cut back on the spice some. However, the addition of the lentils cuts the spice-level dramatically, do don't panic if you taste the peanut sauce alone. 

The post "Richa's Peanut Lentil Sauce" first appeared on Maggie's LesVegan Kitchen.