CHICKEN SATAY

" When arguing with a chicken, a grain of corn is always wrong " - African Proverb 

Today's recipe goes out to all the chicken lovers in the family. I cannot take names here as the list runs long. Now my kids have joined the list and are on their way to make it to the top 2. :-)
I have a special mention here though. My cousin sister got married recently and currently holds the number 1 spot in the above mentioned list. So this one is for her :-)

Now that I mentioned her I have to tell u how much she loves chicken. She can eat it any time of the day ( and night).
There is this one incident which I still remember. This dates to a vacation in Mahe some 15 years back. We ( Me and my cousins) went to a wedding thallennu ( wedding eve) with my grandma so that we get to eat the Biryani. Though I like love  biryani, I am not keen on the chicken pieces. Here is where my cousin comes in.
So in a table for four, all the chicken pieces from 3 biryanis goes to her plate.So you can imagine how that will look and our little miss has no time to look up.
A guy walks by, checking to see if any of us need a second helping and what does he see :-)
I still remember how we all burst out laughing looking at the expression on his face. Given that we were in kerala, where people cannot walk past another without a custom greeting ( which often grows in to an enquiry of sorts about your family and everything under the sun), the guy learning about her love for chicken offered to get her few more. ;-)
After all these years, any conversation about her and the love of her life is incomplete without a recollection of this incident.
Here is wishing her happiness and all the love.

Here's the recipe.
Source : Sanjeev Kapoor

Ingredients
4 (150 GMS EACH) CHICKEN BREASTS, skin removed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tsp oil
1 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste

Peanut Sauce
1 tsp oil
1 small onion, grated
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsps tomato puree
2 tsps honey
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
salt to taste


How to do it :
1. Soak the wooden skewers in water for atleast 30 mins
2. Cut chicken breast into small chunks.
3. Mix lemon juice, soy sauce, oil and chilli powder in a bowl. Mix in the chicken and set aside for an hour.
4. Thread chicken onto the skewers.
5. Heat the grill pan, grease it lightly with a few drops of oil and place a few skewers with the chicken on it. cook on high heat, turning frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes, or till just cooked.
6. For the peanut sauce, heat oil in a wok. add the onion and garlic and cook on high flame stirring continuously, for half a minute.
7. Add the chilli powder, soy sauce, tomato puree, honey, crushed peanuts, salt and one cup water.
8. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Serve the chicken satay with peanut sauce.

Please note :

I like my peanut sauce finely ground, so I ground all the ingredients in the mixer adding little water.
My peanut sauce was a thick fine paste. You can work around the basic recipe to suit your taste.