My mouth watering Indonesian Satay with Peanut Soy Dip

If there is one dish that would make my mouth water just by listening to mere  name of it then it has to be the famous 'Satay'. Countries like Thailand and Malaysia claim that it's their own creation, it's strongly believed that it has originated from Indonesia and I quite agree with it. Satay has actually been adapted from Indian Kebabs on Skewers which again is an influence of Persia.When the traders traveled from India to Indonesia in search of the famous Spice Islands they made these Kebabs very popular there and since Indonesia has some best countries surrounding it , it took a bit of inspiration for all those countries and came up with their own version of grilled meat on sticks and called it 'Satay'. This dish became an instant hit and was featured on all the restaurant menus and road side eating places and then traveled all over the world making the country very proud. It was so popular that it was declared as the 'National Dish' of Indonesia.This , to me is one of the most easiest dishes to cook and especially when you are expecting friends or guests over as it hardly takes any time or effort to make it. I am using chicken for my recipe but you can use just some crisp vegetables for vegetarian version and King Prawns if you are big fan of sea food. Now, i do not expect every one to have a grill or barbecue at home. This can be cooked in the oven and in case you do not have an oven just pan fry them. They will still taste absolutely amazing.Let's start with the marinade.
-You need garlic,ginger, spring onions ,red chili and onions all chopped up.
-Get some roasted peanuts or roast some peanuts (take the husk off once they are roasted).
p.s. you can even use peanut butter.
-Get the peanuts into a blender and add the ginger, garlic, spring onions, red chili and onions to it and blend adding a little bit of water to make it into a thick roughly ground paste. You still need to taste the bits of roasted peanuts in the sauce.
 (Now, a bit of history. A lot of South Indians especially Tamilians migrated to Indonesia during the Dutch rule and Indonesia was then knows as The Dutch East Indies. I am pretty sure that this peanut chutney has been the influence of Tamil Cuisine in Indonesia as this Chutney is very famous till today in South India and is a great accompaniment for famous South Indian snacks or breakfast dishes such as Idlis, Dosas, Vadas etc.. My mom makes a great peanut chutney though i prefer the one that's made with fresh coconut.)
-Back to the recipe now, Once the paste is done , get that into a pan from blender and add some sugar and sweet  soy sauce. If you cant find the Indonesian soy sauce use the dark soy that's available in the market.
-cook this paste slowly adding a little water at a time if you see that it is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
-Add salt and check for taste. It should taste spicy, gingery, sweet and nutty. Cook for about 5 mins and take the pan off the stove.
-Chicken, i strongly suggest thigh rather than breast. Thigh has more flavor than breast the reason being it has fat. Fat really helps the chicken to get a great flavor especially when cooking involves oven roasting /grilling or pan frying. Take the skin and the bone off and cut the meat into cubes. I would cut one thigh into not more than 4 pieces.
-Rub the chicken pieces with turmeric powder(another Indian influence) and then smear the peanut paste over them . Make sure that chicken is completely covered with peanut paste and get the pieces onto the bamboo skewers(soak the skewers in cold water before you get chicken on them so that they stay moist while in the oven or pan and will not burn or break.)
-Also make sure you do not use all the peanut paste, keep half of it for your dip.
-Get them into a baking tray lined with grease proof paper or place them on the iron mesh with the tray underneath to collect all the dripping juices if cooking in oven.
-If you are planning to pan fry them then just get the chicken onto a plate and refrigerate them for an hour.
-Best way to cook it is to use a charcoal grill but as i said  earlier if you do not have one no need to worry.Oven or pan is good enough. But, if you can get your hands on the use and throw barbecue that we use on the beaches ,nothing like it.
-While the chicken is cooling off in the fridge, we make our sauce.
-Very simple. Get a pan, heat some oil. Add some chopped onion, garlic and ginger and the remaining peanut paste. Add more soy sauce and water. Check for seasoning and once you are happy with it let it come to a quick boil and when you see that it formed into a smooth sauce take it off the stove and add some coriander leaves.That's all there is to it.
Now, cooking the chicken. If you are using an oven pre heat it to 220 degrees Celsius and get the chicken in it and keep turning every 3 minutes brushing it with a bit of oil every time you turn. It will not take more than 10 minutes to cook the chicken through.
-If you are using a pan, just a little bit of oil in it, heat it and let your skewers sit in the pan and keep turning them every 2 mins on medium heat. Keep brushing them with some peanut sauce every time you turn them for more flavor. Check after 5 mins and the chicken should be pretty much cooked.
-Do the same if you are cooking them the grill. Keep turning them and paste them with oil and satay sauce.
-Once they are all cooked, get them into a plate, sprinkle some chopped spring onions and serve them hot with the lovely peanut soy sauce which is popularly known as 'satay' sauce.
- All it takes is about 30 mins of prep and cooking time and an hour or marinating time and this my friends, is the time more than worth it for those lovely and absolutely delicious 'Satay' skewers.