An Indonesian peanut sauce served with steamed vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• 2 tsp of finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2 tsp of ground coriander
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 1 finely chopped chilli (optional)
• 400 ml of thin coconut milk (use water instead of coconut milk to make it lighter)
• 8 tbsp of crunchy peanut butter
• 3 finely chopped dates or date pulp
• plenty of lemon juice to taste
• green coriander leaves (optional)

Method

In a heated saucepan without oil, gently fry onions, garlic & ginger until they are soft and golden. Add ground spices to onion mixture & continue to fry for about a minute on very low flame until the spices give off a pungent aroma. The spicy onion mixture will be sticking to the bottom of the saucepan at this stage. Deglaze saucepan with some water, turning the spicy onion mixture into a paste-like consistency. Add coconut milk or water, peanut butter and date paste & stir until the sauce is a homogeneous consistency. Add water for a thinner sauce or reduce for a thicker sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper, or extra chilli and lemon juice. The most important thing about a recipe is to have fun with it and modify it to your own tastes. Have fun and experiment!

Serve on a platter of steamed veggies – cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, string beans, spinach, boiled potatoes and sprouts.