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Chennai / The New Indian Express

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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): cup Vegetable oil: cup Eggs (room temperature): 4 All-purpose flour: 2 cups Baking powder: 1 tbsp White sugar: 1 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 175C (350F). 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 saut 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 saut till both the grams are golden brown. Add these sauted 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: cup Roasted fenugreek powder: 1 tbsp Roasted mustard powder: 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar: 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 saut until golden brown. Add ginger saut 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.

3 Dec 2025 6:00 am