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What To Dip Naan In

This tasty naan dipping sauce is an absolute breeze to make for a quick satisfying creamy dip for naan or other flatbreads.

Why you’ll love it

  • It’s perfect for elevating naan bread to a starter instead of as a side dish.
  • It’s really quick to make, you can have your sauce ready in just fifteen minutes or less.
  • It’s super tasty, like a creamy butter curry sauce.
  • It’s egg and dairy free so suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

And if you like quick spicy dips then you might want to try my 15-minute peri peri sauce, or this quick spicy crema.

Ingredients and substitutions

This is so simple that you do need to pretty much stick to the recipe but you can glance at the photo below to see what ingredients you need, and scroll down to see underneath any substitutions that can be made.

Crushed tomatoes: I recommend using canned crushed tomatoes or passata (without herbs) for this recipe to get the smoothest results, but you can also use canned whole or chopped tomatoes and just quickly blend them. I don’t recommend using fresh tomatoes as they contain more water and take much longer to cook down.

Coconut milk: Full-fat coconut milk will give the creamiest results but if you’re counting calories you can use low-fat coconut milk.

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Oil: You can use any mild oil like olive oil, or a flavorless one like canola or sunflower oil. For an extra luxurious touch, you can also use butter or ghee (although it won’t be vegan then).

Garam masala: Preferably, use a high-quality Indian garam masala and not the mild mixtures you find in the spice rack in your local store. MDH and Everest are two great brands for high-quality Indian spices and masalas. My favorite Indian recipe website has a fantastic recipe for garam masala if you want to make your own.

Turmeric: This adds a lot of warmth, earthiness, and color but you can omit it if you don’t have any.

Garlic: Use fresh garlic and don’t omit it (unless you hate garlic, in which case, feel free!).

Cayenne: Ground cayenne pepper adds some lovely heat to his medium-spicy dip but you can omit it if you prefer things less hot, although you will still get some mild heat from the garam masala.

Cumin: Use ground cumin and don’t omit it.

Ginger: Use fresh ginger.

Sugar: I know a lot of people don’t like to add sugar to recipes but it is a small amount and really helps to balance the flavors, and gives it that restaurant-curry-style edge.

Salt: I always give guidelines but recommend adding salt to taste. If you need to keep sodium levels low I recommend using a low-sodium or no-sodium salt substitute.

How to make it

For beginner cooks or in case you have any doubts, check out the detailed instructions accompanying the process photos below to check you’re on point at every stage.

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I highly recommend measuring the spices out before beginning to cook as once started everything gets going very quickly and you’ll run the risk of burning the spices or garlic if you stop to measure them out one by one.

  1. Add the oil to a medium or large non-stick pan and heat on medium-high. Crush the garlic and finely grate the ginger and add when the oil is hot. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the garlic no longer smells raw.
  2. Add the spices.
  1. Mix the spices well with the garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes more until the spices are toasted and fragrant.
  2. Add the crushed tomatoes, coconut milk, sugar, and salt.
  1. Stir until a uniform pale orange-pink color and increase the heat until the mixture boils.
  2. Reduce the heat to medium-high to maintain a lively simmer and cook until reduced and a bright orange color, between 7-10 minutes depending on how thick you like it (but remember, it’s a dipping sauce, not a dipping paste). Remove from the heat, taste, and adjust the seasoning.

Done! Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature (not chilled) with plenty of delicious naans for dipping in and scooping up the sauce. Makes about one cup to one and a half cups (depending on how much you reduce it).

Can be easily made ahead and stored on the countertop for several hours (up to four) at room temperature.

Equipment notes

What you’ll need:

  • Measuring cups and spoons.
  • A garlic press.
  • A medium or large non-stick frying pan. You can also use a small non-stick saucepan.
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Expert tips

  • Don’t bother grating your ginger, it’s a totally unnecessary extra step. I scrub my fresh ginger when I buy it, leave it in the fridge and grate as necessary. The vast majority of the very thin and tasteless peel gets left on the non-business side of the grater with the other thick fibrous bits that you don’t use.
  • If you don’t have a garlic press, you can either chop the garlic finely, and then use a handheld stick blender to blend the sauce once you’ve added the coconut milk and crushed tomatoes, or simply mince the garlic and crush/squish it with the back of a spoon, applying plenty of pressure and wiggling the spoon from side to side.
  • If you’ve over-reduced your sauce and it’s looking more like a paste than a dip, no worries, just add a little more coconut milk, mix and repeat until it’s at your desired consistency. If you don’t have any coconut milk left, you can thin it with some sour cream, Greek yogurt, or failing that, some water.

Storage

This sauce will keep at room temperature for up to four hours, after which it needs to be refrigerated. It will last in the fridge for up to five days or can be frozen for up to three months.

To reheat you can either leave it on the counter until it reaches room temperature (up to one hour), or microwave it for one minute, stir, and return to the microwave and continue to heat and stir in 30 second increments until warm or hot (as you prefer).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Did you make this dish? Let me know how much you loved it with a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and a comment below.

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