As the temperature dips, the markets are filled with colourful fruits. Adding to their hues are the juicy oranges. From the imported Malta variant to the Kamala or Nagpur orange, there are many an option to choose from. Packed with vitamin C, they taste best when eaten as is. But this versatile fruit, and its peel, are used across households to make desserts, condiments, and more. Team CE brings you some recipes to try out this season.
Orange Carrot Cake by Chef Firozi Karanjia
Ingredients:
For the cake:
Orange juice (fresh): ¾ cup
Vegetable oil: ½ cup
Eggs (room temperature): 4
All-purpose flour: 2 cups
Baking powder: 1 tbsp
White sugar: 1 ¼ cup
Carrot (grated): 1 cup
Orange zest: 1 tbsp
For the orange glaze (optional):
Orange juice: 2 tbsp
Icing sugar (powdered sugar): 1/3 cup
Orange zest: 2 tbsp
Method:
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a 22-cm (9-inch) round springform or cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter or nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until fluffy, using an electric whisk. Gradually, add the sugar and whisk again until well combined. Add the oil and orange juice to the egg mixture and whisk briefly. In a separate medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and orange zest. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and whisk until just combined. Finally, stir in the grated carrots using a spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
To add the glaze: While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze by combining the orange juice, powdered sugar, and orange zest in a bowl. Stir well until smooth. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour or brush the orange glaze evenly over the warm cake. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before transferring to a wire rack and serving.
Orange Peel Thuvayal by Chef Shribala
Ingredients:
Orange peel: 5 (approx. 250 g)
Red chilli: 8
Rock salt: to taste
Bengal gram: 2 tbsp
Black gram: 1 tbsp
Asafoetida: 1 tsp
Tamarind juice: 1 tbsp
Jaggery: 1 tbsp
Oil: 2 tbsp
For seasoning:
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Bengal gram:
1 tsp
Black gram:1 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Oil: 1 tbsp
Method:
Chop the orange peel into smaller pieces and wash it thoroughly. In a heavy-bottomed kadai, add a tbsp of oil and chopped orange skin and sauté until soft. Remove and let it cool. In the same kadai, add the remaining oil and add Bengal gram, black gram, asafoetida, red chilli and sauté till both the grams are golden brown. Add these sautéed ingredients to the mixer along with orange peel, salt, tamarind, jaggery, and grind it nicely by sprinkling water. In a small kadai, add oil, crackle mustard, Bengal gram, black gram, curry leaves and pour it on the thuvayal. Lip-smacking orange peel thuvayal is ready to be served with plain rice and ghee.
Orange Popsicle by Priyathama K
Ingredients:
Orange juice: 400 ml
Nutmeg powder: 1 tsp
Orange zest: 1 tsp
Powdered sugar: 1-2 tbsp
Method:
Mix the above ingredients and transfer the liquid into popsicle trays. Cover the tray with foil, and make slits for each popsicle. Stick ice cream sticks into slits made on the foil and freeze before serving.
Orange Tea By Archana Kiran
Ingredients:
Peel of one orange
Tea powder: 1 spoon
Water
Honey
Method:
Dry the orange peels. Boil water in a pan and add a few pieces of the dried peel. After a few minutes, add tea powder and let it boil. Strain and serve, with or without milk, and honey. Note: Do not boil after adding milk.
Orange Peel Vatha Kozhambu by Geetha Radhakrishnan
Ingredients:
Gingelly oil: 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds: a pinch
Fenugreek seeds: a pinch
Bengal gram: 1 tsp
Red chilli: 2
Sambar powder: 2 tbsp
Cleaned orange peels from 1 or 2 small fruits
Tamarind paste: 1-2 tbsp soaked and extracted with 2 cups of water
Salt to taste
Asafoetida: a pinch
Curry leaves: a few
Method:
To a kadai, add gingelly oil. Once hot, add the first four ingredients, followed by the cleaned orange peels. Fry them until golden brown. To this, add the tamarind water, sambar powder, salt, and asafoetida, and boil it on medium flame.
Once the curry reduces to half its quantity, temper it with curry leaves.
If you desire a thicker concoction, you can mix rice flour to 2 teaspoon of water and add the mixture to the curry before removing it off the stove.
Orange Posset by Ann Leah Sam
Ingredients :
Heavy cream: 1 cup
Cane sugar: 1/3 cup
Orange juice: 1/4 cup
Vanilla: 1-2 tsp
Zest from 1 orange
Method:
Part I: Cream mixture
Take 3 orange peel halves or 4 ramekins. In a bowl, mix sugar with orange zest. Rub them together with your hands until the sugar turns fragrant and orange-tinted. Whisk in heavy cream and vanilla until smooth. Pour the mixture into a saucepan, heat on low, and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat and stir in orange juice. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl to remove the zest.
Part II: Assemble & chill
Cut 2 oranges in half and scoop out the insides. Pour the cream mixture into each hollowed orange half (or use ramekins if you prefer).Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until set. Garnish with a mint sprig before serving, if desired.
Orange Peel Pickle by Chef Shribala
Ingredients:
Orange peel: 500 g
Ginger (chopped): 200 g
Whole garlic: 100 g
Tamarind juice: 100 ml
Jaggery: 100 g
Oil: 250 ml
Red chilli powder: 150 g
Whole red chilli: 10
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Salt: ¼ cup
Roasted fenugreek powder: 1 tbsp
Roasted mustard powder: 1 tbsp
Apple cider vinegar: ¼ cup
Asafoetida: 1 tbsp
Mustard: 1 tbsp
Kalonji: 1 tbsp
Method:
Start collecting the peels from the oranges; shade dry; scrape the inner side and remove the inner pith. Cut these peels into small strips. wash and pat dry these strips. In a kadai, add 100 ml of oil. Let it heat up. Crackle mustard, then fenugreek, kalonji, and curry leaves. Tear up red chilli into small pieces and add it to the oil. Add curry leaves, asafoetida, garlic and sauté until golden brown. Add ginger sauté till it releases nice aroma; add the tamarind pulp, orange peel, and salt. Add the remaining oil and switch off the stove; let it cool for five minutes. Now add the red chilli powder, jaggery, roasted fenugreek powder, and roasted mustard powder. Mix well after adding the apple cider vinegar and let it rest. Cool it in a clean glass jar for future use.
Orange Sorbet By Rose George
Ingredients:
Orange juice: 2 cups
Water: 1 cup
Sugar: 1 cup (or less)
Lemon juice: 1 teaspoon
Method:
Heat the water and sugar in a pot until the sugar dissolves. Let the syrup cool fully. Mix the cold syrup with the orange juice and lemon juice. Pour the mixture into a freezer-safe container. Freeze for 2 hours. Take it out and scrape the frozen edges with a fork. Return it to the freezer. Scrape it again every hour, 3-4 times. Freeze until firm. Scoop and serve cold.
One Ingredient Mandarin Ice Cream by Priyathama K
Ingredients:
Mandarin oranges: 2
Condensed milk and whipped cream: optional
Method:
Take two mandarins, peel the skin off and place the fruit segments into a tray. Freeze it overnight. Once frozen, add the fruit segments to a blender or a food processor, and blend. Use a spoon to push the mixture down and continue blending until you get a smooth consistency and serve. Alternatively, you can blend the fresh fruit, beat it with condensed milk and whipped cream, transfer the mixture to a tray and freeze it overnight before serving.
Orange Chicken By Meghanand S
Ingredients:
Chicken breasts (boneless skinless): 4
Eggs (whisked): 3
Cornstarch: 1/3 cup
Flour: 1/3 cup
Salt
Oil for frying
For orange sauce:
Orange juice: 1 cup
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Rice vinegar (or white vinegar): 2 tbsp
Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
Ginger: 1/4 tsp
Garlic powder or 2 minced garlic cloves:
1/4 tsp
Red chilli flakes: 1/2 tsp
Zest of 1 orange
Cornstarch: 1 tbsp
Water: 2 tbsp
For garnish:
Green onions
Orange zest
Method:
Mix orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and chilli flakes in a pot. Heat for 3 minutes. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoon water and add to the pot. Cook for another 5 minutes until thick, then turn off heat and stir in orange zest. For the chicken, mix cornstarch, flour, and salt in a bowl. Dip chicken pieces in the egg, then coat in the flour mixture. Heat oil to medium-high. Fry chicken in batches for 2-3 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove and drain the oil. Toss the chicken in the orange sauce. Garnish with green onions and extra zest. Serve with rice.