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6 Min
02/01/2026
This might make a few folks mad, just like how pineapple on pizza sparked a global debate. But folks who love their oranges in quite literally everything might want to check out the dishes below and surprise themselves and their loved ones with something that is rarely made. It’s time oranges found their place beyond just beverages and desserts.
Oranges are typically enjoyed as sweet treats or desserts, and there are a few rare dishes that use oranges in savoury dishes. But where there is will (to enjoy oranges in savoury dishes), there is a way (this list). Indian cuisine has plenty of room for experimentation, as the palate is diverse, and even savoury dishes sometimes have sweetness in them. So, oranges can easily be sneaked into some dishes, if not all. Pick from pulaos, an orange-peel, South Indian curry, or just a fish curry with orange; all of these are delicious, and the variety will have you screaming, 'OMG, where was this all my life?'
This traditional South Indian soupy dish takes on a refreshing twist when prepared with orange juice and zest. The timing is crucial when it comes to adding the orange bits. This version adds orange zest to a mixture of water, chopped tomatoes, turmeric, and hing, which is boiled for 10 to 15 minutes before adding the cooked toor dal and freshly ground rasam masala. The orange juice goes later, after the rasam has boiled for 10-15 minutes, along with lemon juice. The tadka is added at the end, and your orange rasam is ready.
This dish is an orange-flavoured Awadhi-style rice made using freshly squeezed orange juice and flavoured with whole spices, including star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, and fennel seeds. Saffron is also added to the pulao, which gives it a lovely colour and rich flavour. The rice is washed, soaked, and then pressure-cooked with ghee, whole spices, freshly squeezed orange juice, saffron-infused milk, and salt for two whistles. The result is a dish with the fragrance of the citrus, the perfume of the spices, along with the richness of cashews and raisins.
This South Indian dish is spicy and tangy with a gravy made with tamarind juice and orange peels, transforming what is usually binned into a delicious dish. Orange peels are a source of health-promoting carbohydrates, making this a great way to include them in your diet. First, the tadka is done with mustard seeds crackled in hot oil, then goes in the ginger, curry leaves, and green chillies, followed by the orange peels. After cooking briefly, turmeric, asafoetida, and sambar powder are added, followed by tamarind juice, jaggery and water — all of it is cooked until halved.
Stir-fried vegetables with orange sauce feature crunchy vegetables coated in a flavourful orange-based sauce. The sauce is made by mixing orange juice with cornstarch and water, then adding soy sauce, vinegar, and honey. It also has brown sugar, honey, and aromatics like minced garlic and ginger. The vegetables can be anything from a mix of broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, and onions, stir-fried at high heat. The orange sauce is mixed in with the vegetables and cooked, constantly stirring, then served hot over warm brown rice, garnished with sesame seeds.
A variation of the famous orange chicken from Chinatown in the West, sweet chilli and orange chicken includes grilled chicken pieces topped with a sauce made from orange juice mixed with spicy chilli sauce for a sweet and sour dish. To cook the dish, marinate chicken pieces with basic spices, grill or pan-fry until cooked through, then coat with the orange chilli sauce. Make the sauce with orange juice, red chilli sauce, corn flour, and pepper powder with water. After adding the sauce to the chicken, cook on low heat for at least 15 minutes until the chicken is well-coated and the sauce thickens.
Trust Bengalis to come up with something ingenious when it comes to their combined love for fish and winter oranges from the Darjeeling hills. Kamola Katla means orange fish, with the latter (katla) a variety of fish. The preparation involves rubbing fish pieces with turmeric and salt, shallow frying them, then creating a gravy from a paste of onion, garlic, ginger, and green chillies cooked with cumin seeds and spices. The fish is added to the gravy and cooked covered for 10-15 minutes on medium flame, then the orange segments and juice are added and cooked for another 5 minutes on low flame, with garam masala added at the end.
Spruce up any salad of your choice (preferably those with fruits and greens in it) with this refreshingly sweet orange dressing. All you need to do is mix freshly squeezed orange juice with a bit of honey, white wine vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. This salad dressing is light, so whatever your salad base is, it won’t overpower the main ingredients. You can add dried berries like cranberries and raisins, and dry fruits like walnuts for a balanced taste.
Oranges in savoury dishes, that too Indian, might sound unconventional at first, but once you taste them, there’s no going back. Indian cuisine has always embraced balance – sweet, sour, spicy, and bitter living happily on the same plate. Seasonal santra fits right into this philosophy, adding refreshing sweetness and depth without overpowering the main flavours.
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