Spring is here..Spring is here…after what seems a long gloomy winter, spring is finally here. The chirping birds, the blooming flowers, the warm caressing breeze and delicious scent of greenery all seem to announce that it is spring time, the time to renew the excitement and zest for life that lives inside us. The world which seemed so dull and cold seems to have come to life again.
The streets of Hyderabad are decked with fruits of different hues. Oranges are one fruit which seem to have flooded the markets filling the air with fresh and rejuvenating citrusy aromas. Oranges and lemons though not being sold for a penny are still worth a steal. They unceremoniously found their way into my juices, lemonades, sorbets, cupcakes, desserts and the fruit platters. Yes, I couldn’t have enough of adding the beautiful aromas and flavors of these refreshing fruits. Even peeling an orange fills the room with an invigorating scent.
That is when I decided to making a grilled chicken dinner with oranges and lemons. Trust me it turned out delicious. It is quick and easy to make. Of course if you want to brine the chicken to make it extra succulent as I always do, you have to add the brining time. Otherwise it is done in the blink of an eye. As it is spring time and you might have taken your barbecues out in your backyards, you can consider grilling the chicken on charcoal. But I have grilled the chicken breasts on a pan and they were delicious.
Brining the chicken: You can skip this step if you don’t have the time. But I prefer to brine my chicken before grilling. It makes the chicken juicy and succulent. Take about 10 cups of water in a vessel and dissolve 1/2 a cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of sea salt in it. Add a whole lemon to the water. Now place the chicken breasts in the water and leave for a couple of hours in a cool place. After 2 hours, discard the water and rinse the chicken well. Now your chicken breasts are ready for marinating.
Lemon & Orange Grilled Chicken
servings=”4-6″ preptime=”10 mins” cooktime=”6 mins” difficulty=”easy”
First set of Ingredients:
- 6 Chicken breast fillets (approximately 1/2 inch thick and 100g each)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. crushed pepper
- plain flour for dusting the fillets
Step One Marinating–
-Sprinkle the salt and pepper on both sides of the fillets. Rub the seasoning in. Now dust the chicken with plain flour. Keep aside.
Second set of Ingredients:
- 1.5 tbsp. Red Chilli sauce
- 1.5 tbsp. dark soy sauce
- 1.5 tbsp. brown sugar
- 4 tbsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. Orange juice
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 6 cloves minced garlic
- 1 inch ginger grated
Step Two Making the sauce–
-Add all the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on low heat until the sauce thickens. Take off heat.
Step Three Grilling the chicken–
-Take a grilling pan or a well seasoned cast iron frying pan. (I don’t use non stick pans). Brush it with olive oil, butter or any other vegetable oil.
-Hold each chicken fillet and dip it into the sauce in such a manner that the entire fillet is coated.
-Place all the fillets on the grilling pan and sear for about 3 minutes on each side on medium heat.
-When the chicken is cooked take off heat and pour in the remaining sauce.
-Garnish with chopped coriander/cilantro.
-Serve on a bed of hot rice. I have served it with schezuan rice.
