Babycorn Satay with Peanut Sauce - Guest Post by Prathima of Prat's Corner

Prathima from Prats Corner is this month's guest host in my kitchen. Prats and I are real "virtual" friends. Though it may sound oxymoronic, it is a true statement. We got to know each other through the blogging world and Facebook and became good friends. Emails and chats kept us connected. I love her elegant blogspace and unique dishes. My favorite is the authentic Davanagare Benne Dosa. I completely adore her style of writing which makes her posts enduringly interesting. She recently celebrated 1,00,000 hits in her space. Prats Corner is not just recipes but also about her other interests. Her charcoal painting of her grandpa is just awesome. Here is Prats in her own words.

"We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow, suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken" ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

Some people you meet in the journey called 'life', you will take a little while to get acquainted to. And then with some its an instant connection! You go on and on chatting with this newly met friend all about your past, your dreams maybe or your opinions and anything about you find interesting. And in the end you say it was like a reunion with an old friend!

I now know that distance cannot act as barrier between friendship, nor does difference in culture or language. This reminds me of my grandmother who by conversing in  Kannada and very few words of English thrown in between made good friendship with a German lady. And this lady simply adored my grandma! Essence of  a good friendship leans more towards feelings, emotions and the bond we share with the other person.

I have no idea what plays a role in this 'instant connection' between two strangers - is it the positive vibes or similar interests or fate?? Whatever the reason, this stranger is now your new found friend, a treasure worth cherishing for ever.

One such special person or my new found treasure in Krithi of Krithi`s Kitchen. She is friendly, a software engineer turned foodie with a fabulous food blog loaded with delicious, elegant, interesting recipes! Not to forget - she is also a good photographer!  She is someone I came in contact with through the food blogging world. She is someone I have not met personally and yet it does not seem that way! Just few casual messages exchanged and now she is a good friend of mine!

And I was truly delighted when I was asked to do a guest post on her blog - Krithi`s Kitchen. I picked a Thai starter recipe - Satay for this guest post which turned out to be delicious & more-ish!

What is a Satay?

Satay (pronounced - SAH-tay) is a popular South East Asian starter dish. Many articles on satay mention Indonesia as being the origin of satay. But it has now become popular in other South-Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and particularly Thailand. Thai cuisine being popular worldwide has led to considering this dish as originated from Thailand.

One or few main ingredients - be it vegetable chunks, tofu, meat, fish are seasoned and threaded onto satay sticks or bamboo skewers. They are then grilled or barbecued over a charcoal over wood fire. An authentic satay will have turmeric added to the marinade, giving it the characteristic yellow shade and will have a smoky flavor, the result of cooking over charcoal.

The difference between the satay recipes of these South East nations is mainly in the accompaniment served along with the barbecued ingredient and also in the way the vegetable/ meat is cut.

One popular accompaniment to the satay is the spicy peanut sauce served in Thailand. The sauce is generous in its spice level. Tang from the lemon and a hint of sweetness from palm sugar make this  a lip smacking dip!

In Singapore satay is sold in food courts, by street vendors and in upscale restaurants. The popular one here is the Chicken satay.

Different parts of Malaysia have their own versions of this popular appetizer. One popular veraion is the Sate Kajang where a sweet peanut sauce and some fried chilli paste is served along side with barbecued meat. Another version is the sate lok-lok from Penang where the dip is a sweet dark sauce or a chilli sauce. Sate celup is a verion where the satay is cooked in boiling peanut sauce.

The country where this popular appetizer originated - Indonesia, serves satay with soy based dip.  There are several versions of satay in this country. One popular one is the Sate Madura where meat is served with sweet soy sauce and eaten with rice or rice cakes wrapped with banana or coconut leaves. Such rice cakes are called ketupat. Few more accompaniments to other satay versions include - sambal (chilli paste), pineapple based satay sauce, sliced shallots or sliced fresh chillies.

Baby corn and vegetable satay on satay sticks :

Spicy, sweet peanut sauce with a hint of lemon :

BABY CORN SATAY Ethnicity : Thai / Course : starter Makes 12 pieces INGREDIENTS Baby corn – 12 whole pieces Onion – 1, medium Red capsicum – 1, medium Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp, to pan fry vegetables Satay sticks – 12+2 or as needed, soaked in water for 5 mins For Marinade : Soya sauce – 1 tbsp Lemon juice – 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste – 1.5 tsp Brown sugar – 1 tsp Honey – ½ tsp Salt – 1 tsp/ to taste For Peanut Sauce : Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp Onion – 1, small Ginger – ½ “ Garlic – 4 cloves Soya sauce – ¾ tbsp Peanuts/ groundnuts (without skin) – 6 tbsp Coconut milk – ¾ cup (tetra pack or fresh thin extract) Lemon juice – 1 tbsp Lemon rind – ½ tsp Red chilli powder – 1 tsp OR 1-2 chopped fresh red chilli Honey OR brown sugar – 1 tbsp For garnish – red chilli flakes (optional) METHOD Prepare the vegetables – Wash baby corn, cube onion and red capsicum. Blanch baby corns in salted boiling water for 2 mins OR pressure cook for up to 2-3 whistles (open lid when pressure drops). In a bowl combine the above vegetables, marinade ingredients. Toss. Set aside to marinade for 15 to 20 mins. Pierce all baby corns into satay sticks (1 per stick). Thread the other remaining vegetables between 2 to 3 separate sticks Heat oil in a grill pan/ griddle. Place the sticks with vegetables onto the griddle. Pour any excess marinade on top of vegetables. Cook the vegetables, turning sticks in between to cook the vegetables evenly on all sides. Cook till baby corn is brown and caramelized , onion-capsicum a bit charred on the edges. Remove and set aside. For the sauce –  Chop onion for the sauce. Chop ginger, garlic. Grind the peanuts to a coarse powder, then add 1-2 tsp water and grind to smooth paste. Extract coconut milk if using fresh. Heat oil in a pan, sauté onions till transparent. Add ginger, garlic, sauté for 1 min. Add soya sauce, peanut paste, 3 to 4 tbsp water and stir. Add coconut milk, salt, honey/ brown sugar, chilli powder, lemon rind. May stir with a whisk if peanuts form lumps. Stir and simmer for 10 mins. Lastly add lemon juice. Stir and remove sauce from heat. To serve – Arrange the vegetable satay on sticks on a serving plate. Serve the sweet, spicy, tangy, nutty peanut sauced on the side. May sprinkle with red chilli flakes if desired. Serve hot! NOTES 1. Instead of above vegetables, you could make satay from tofu, button mushrooms, paneer (cottage cheese), green, yellow and red capsicum. You could serve cubed cucumbers too but no need to marinade or grill them. Just thread cubed cucumber onto skewers and serve with the peanut sauce. 2. Instead of the above marinade, you could marinade the vegetable/tofu/mushroom/paneer with few tablespoons of the peanut sauce for 15 mins. Then grill as above. Serve hot with remaining peanut dip. 3. You could also add coconut milk made from coconut milk powder. 4. You could also serve this peanut sauce with boiled/teamed/grilled vegetables. 5. You may also add chopped lemongrass stalks along with coconut milk. Then reduce the amount of lemon juice.