Nagpur Orange Granita to Jingle Mingle Salad: Indulge in the goodness of citrus with delicious orange recipes

This refreshing fruit adds great taste to a variety of dishes from salads to cakes and candies. Loaded with freshness and a beautiful blend of tangy and sweet taste, oranges are a great way to brighten up a meal table. Now, with the official season of the fruit going on, we thought of adding some zest to your mundane diet. While the fruit tastes heavenly in its original form, we asked chefs for orange recipes that give a unique twist to this universally loved fruit.

If you are in for some fun this winter and wish to tingle your tastebuds, bring out your cutlery and get started.

Glazed Cranberry Orange Scones

Ingredients:
Refined flour - 250 gm
Sugar - 100 gm
Baking powder - 2 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Orange zest - 2 tsp
Unsalted butter (Frozen) - 113 gm
Egg large - 1
Heavy cream - 120 ml
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Cranberries - 125 gm
Confectioner's sugar (for glaze) - 1 cup
Orange juice (for glaze) - 30-45 ml

Method:
1. Whisk refined flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs.
2. Whisk half a cup of heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the cranberries, then mix until everything appears moistened.
3. Make the dough into a ball. The dough will be sticky. If it's too sticky, add a little more flour. Add about two more tablespoons of heavy cream if it seems too dry. Press into an eight-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or scraper, cut into eight wedges.
4. Brush scones with remaining heavy cream; sprinkle with coarse sugar for extra crunch. Place scones on a lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 204°C.
6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. After refrigerating, arrange the scones about two to three inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes as you make the glaze.
8. For making the glaze, whisk the confectioner's sugar and orange juice together. Add a little bit more confectioner's sugar to thicken or more juice to thin. Drizzle over scones.

Recipe by Chef Ravi Kant, executive chef, The Lalit New Delhi

Nagpur Orange and Kafir Lime Granita

Ingredients:
Fresh-squeezed Nagpur orange juice - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Kafir lime leaf - 1

Method:
1. Make a simple syrup by cooking the sugar and water in a small pot, stirring, until all the sugar dissolves.
2. Mix this syrup with the fresh orange juice and kafir lime leaf and set it to rest for an hour.
3. Remove the kafir lime leaf and pour the mixture into any kind of flat-bottomed, freezer-safe dish, such as a brownie pan or casserole.
4. Place the mixture in the freezer. Stir and scrape with a fork every 20 to 30 minutes until fully frozen into a slushy sorbet consistency.
5. Once the slush is ready, serve immediately in a short glass.

Recipe by Chef Rajdeep Rana, Westin Pune Koregaon Park, Pune

Brie and Orange Salad

Ingredients:

For salad
Arugula Leaves - 100 gm
Olives - 30 gm
Microgreen - 20 gm
Cherry tomatoes mix (halves) - 20 gm
Orange - 1
Healthy mix seed - 20 gm
Crostini - 3 slices
Brie Cheese - 30 gm

For dressing
Apple cider vinegar - 30 ml
Honey - 3 tbsp
Dijon mustard - 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 100 ml
Parsley - 12 gm
Roasted pumpkin - 30 gm
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Lemon zest - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 2 gm
Salt to taste

Method:
1. To prepare the dressing, blend all the dressing ingredients in a blender and ensure no lumps remain. Remove the dressing in a steel bowl.
2. Now, place the arugula lettuce and mixed cherry tomatoes in a wide shallow bowl.
3. Add the dressing and mix properly.
4. Place the mixed lettuce in a wooden bowl, topped with healthy mix seeds, microgreens and orange segments.
5. Brush a grilled bread with olive oil, place a slice of brie cheese over top of each bread, garnish it with olive dust and serve immediately.

Recipe by Chef Prakash Joshi, Epitome, Mumbai

Jingle Mingle Salad

Ingredients
Strawberries - 25 gm
Mulberry - 20 gm
Blueberries - 20 gm
Raspberry - 25 gm
Avocado - 30 gm
Kale lettuce - 40 gm
Arugula lettuce - 30 gm
Edible flowers - 5 gm
Roasted hazelnut - 4 gm
Chia seeds (soaked overnight) - 2 gm
Orange segments - 6 gm
Candied orange peel - 2 gm
Parmesan cheese - 10 gm
Orange caviar - 2 gm
Poppy seeds - 1 gm
Orange juice - 60 ml
Apple cider vinegar - 5 ml
Dijon mustard - 3 gm
Pepper - 1 gm
Water - 1 cup
Meron agar agar powder - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Orange flavour - 1 1/4 tsp
Syringe
Big bowl of chilled water
Salt to taste
Chilled vegetable oil - 1/2 cup

Method:

To make candied orange:
1. First, prep the oranges using a vegetable peeler to carefully peel the oranges from top to bottom, into two to four-inch long segments. Once you've peeled all of the oranges into wide strips, cut the slices into thinner one-fourth-inch strips. 2. Now, place the orange peel segments into a medium saucepan and turn the heat on to medium or medium-low. Add water, sugar, and salt. Stir and bring to a simmer. As soon as the water begins to boil, cook the peels until they are soft enough, but still have their lovely vibrant colour.
3. Meanwhile, prepare for the next steps: Add the remaining half cup of sugar to a bowl and set aside. Set out a drying rack with a piece of parchment paper under it.
4. Once the orange peels have simmered till soft, stir in the vanilla extract. Turn off the heat and let the peels rest in the sugar syrup for several minutes. Then use tongs (or a slotted spoon) to move the orange peels to the cooling wire rack. Allow the orange peels to rest for at least 15 minutes to dry and cool.
5. Toss the cooled peels in the sugar to coat.

To make orange caviar:
1. For this, you need chilled vegetable oil. So refrigerate oil for about three to four hours before you start.
2. In a bowl, mix agar agar powder with a little water and keep aside for 10 minutes. Now in a saucepan, boil water, add sugar and keep stirring till it melts. Add agar agar powder mixture to this and keep stirring occasionally. Boil for about three to four minutes till you see that agar agar powder has dissolved completely. Allow to slightly cool.
3. Pour vegetable oil into a tall glass. Using a syringe, pump up the agar agar mixture, and put drops one by one in vegetable oil. The liquid mixture will turn into pearls.
4. Use a strainer to remove the pearls and rinse with cold water at least three times.

To make the salad:
1. Roast hazelnuts in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for five to six minutes till crunchy.
2. Clean and soak lettuce in ice water till crispy.
3. Meanwhile, reduce orange juice for dressing. Once reduced, cool it down. Now take some of the reduced juice in a steel bowl, add one teaspoon of dijon mustard, one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a pinch of salt and pepper and make the dressing. Once the dressing is ready add toasted poppy seeds to it.
4. To make salad, combine all salad ingredients in a bowl. With gentle hands break the crispy lettuce into small chunks and toss it along with some more dressing. Now mount the prepared salad on a chilled salad plate and garnish with peeled candied orange, orange segments, edible flowers, orange caviar and grated parmesan.

Recipe by Chef Santosh Keshav Magdum, Que Sera Sera, Mumbai

Fresh Orange Mojito

Ingredients:
Fresh orange wedges - 1/2 cup
Orange slices - 3 - 4
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Lemon cut into small chunks - 1
Brown sugar - 1 tsp
Orange juice - 50 ml
Soda or water - 150 ml
Fresh mint leaves - 10 - 12
Crushed ice

Method:
1. Take the orange wedges in a glass, add mint leaves, brown sugar, lemon chunks and muddle with a muddler till everything is mixed well.
2. Add crushed ice to this mixture and orange juice. Add the lemon juice as per taste
3. Just before serving add the soda or water. Add the orange slices. Garnish it with mint leaves and serve chilled.

Recipe by Aanchal Adukia, culinary expert

Bircher Muesli infused Orange

Ingredients:
Rolled Oats - 200 gm
Fresh Valencia orange juice - 200 ml
Hung curd - 50 gm
Fresh cream - 50 ml
Honey - 25 ml
Fresh orange segments - 20 gms (without skin for garnish)
Roasted nuts - 25 gm
Soaked chia seeds - 10 gm
Flax seeds - 5 gm

Method:
1. In a bowl, add rolled oats and top it up with freshly imported Valencia orange juice.
2. Soak it for about four hours or best soaked overnight.
3. Add hung curd, fresh cream and honey. Mix it well.
4. Add roasted nuts, flax seeds and soaked chia seeds.
5. In a bowl add the prepared muesli and garnish it with fresh orange.

Recipe by Chef Supreet Ghai, director of culinary, Ibis and Ibis styles, India

Orange Cake

Ingredients:
All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Butter - 3/4 cup
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Eggs - 3
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Orange - 1

Method:
1. Beat sugar and butter till it gets a light white cream colour.
2. Then, add eggs in portions and fold lightly.
3. Sieve flour, salt and baking powder together.
4. Add orange zest to this mixture. Now mix all of this well. Ensure there are no lumps.
5. Grease a cake pan with butter and dusk with flour or use parchment paper to pour the batter. Tab to remove any air bubbles.
6. Now bake at 180 degrees celsius for 35 minutes.
7. Once it is done, de-mould and decorate with oranges and serve.

Recipe by Chef Bharati Mhatre, chef, content creator, Simply Swadisht