Orange Chicken

 When a fruit or vegetable is in season and in abundance one is usually either overwhelmed or spoilt for choice of what to make with it. I want you to make this delicious Orange Chicken a staple in your rotation when oranges are in season and at peak sweetness and fragrance.

This recipe uses both the juice and zest of the orange and no sugar as our oranges are already sweet enough. It is a savoury dish afterall not a dessert.

Now let's get into it.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken

Onions

Spice & Herb blend (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, blackpepper, rosemary, star anise, negro pepper, oregano)

Salt

Chicken stock powder

White vinegar

Oil for frying

For the Sauce;

Oil

Minced attarugu{coarse blend}

Zest of orange

Juice of 4 large oranges

Grated fresh ginger

Minced garlic

Slurry (flour &water)

Salt

White pepper

Sliced white onion

A teaspoon of lime juice

I'm not giving exact measurements here because this is really hard to mess up. You  just go with what feels right for you alright?

PROCEDURE

1. Start by washing your chicken pieces with water and vinegar or lime/lemon juice. Place your chicken pieces into a pot along with the salt, stock powder, spice blend {quantity of this depends on the quantity of your chicken. I used about 1 teaspoon for a medium sized chicken [weighed 800g give or take]}, a splash of vinegar and a medium sliced onion. Get your hands in there and mix all the ingredients thoroughly so every piece of chicken gets coated with the seasoning. Cover and place on low heat to come to a boil. We don't need to add any water as the chicken will release moisture as it heats up and cook itself. Also this way the flavor and sharpness of all the seasoning wont be watered down, so we wont have to add more seasoning later on.
2. After about 20 minutes your chicken should be cooked. Take it off the heat and strain out the stock gotten from boiling it and reserve for cooking something else.
3. Get a large pot or skillet/frying pan or your electric fryer, pour enough oil and get the temperature high enough then deep-fry your chicken pieces in batches until golden, not too deep because we don't want to dry out our chicken.
4. After your are done frying, set the chicken aside and get a large pot or a wok if you have one{basically something that'll hold all your chicken and more ,while also tolerating sautéing vigorously without spilling anything. Yeah, something deep and wide👌}. Now put your large pot or wok on medium heat and pour some oil into it along with the ginger, garlic, attarugu and salt. Sautee for 2 minutes until fragrant then add your orange zest and juice, bring to a boil and add the white pepper and thicken with the slurry. The sauce shouldn't be too thick, just thick enough so its not runny like water.
5. Now you add your chicken into the sauce and mix really well to get the pieces coated well with the orange sauce. Turn off the heat and add the sliced white onions and lime juice. Toss one last time and serve hot. 
6. You can eat this on its own or pair with whatever carb you like. I pair mine with fried rice but it will be delicious with soft and fluffy flatbread too or in a roll or wrap. Enjoy💕

As always don't hesitate to leave your comments or questions in the comments section. Thank you