During the Chinese New Year period, here in Singapore, you get lots of different types of Mandarin oranges. I love Mandarin oranges and during that time, on a call with my mum and sister, we started talking about the Orange Kozambu my mum used to make. Inspired by that call and the two cartons of Mandarin oranges I had in the house, I made some of this delicious kozambu. I made it slightly different from how my mother makes it, making it more like my Milagu Kozambu and I felt this was a better way to make it as it kept for more than a week in the fridge. This is perfect with some rice and any stir-fried curry on a cold or rainy day. You can increase the number of peppercorns depending on your spice tolerance.

Orange Kozambu

Ingredients:

• 2 mandarin oranges
• 2 tsp Peppercorns
• 7-8 Red Chillies
• 2 tsp Urad Dal
• 3 tsp Chana Dal
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 3 tsp Coriander Seeds
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• Tamarind piece as big as a piece of lime (make sure you remove all fibre from the tamarind as well as any seeds which may be there). Alternatively, you can use 1-2 tbsp tamarind paste
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 tbsp jaggery powder
• ¼ tsp Asafoetida
• 2 tbsp Gingelly Oil (if this oil is not available, then use the oil you use for your daily cooking)

Method:

• Peel the oranges and remove any fibre from the peel as well as the segments.
• Chop the orange peel into fine pieces and remove the seeds from the segments and chop them also finely.
• Wash the peel and the segments and keep them aside.
• In a pan, heat about 1 tbsp gingelly oil and after the oil warms up, add the tamarind piece, peppercorns, red chillies, urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida, cumin seeds and coriander seeds and fry them until the urad dal turns a golden brown colour.
• If you are using tamarind paste, don’t add the paste to the oil, instead, you can use it while cooking the kozambu.
• Once the spices cool down, blend them to a fine paste and keep aside.
• Heat the balance gingelly oil and when the oil warms up, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
• Then add the chopped mandarin orange peel and segments and fry for about 5-7 minutes, until the peel is fully cooked.
• Then add the blended paste and enough water to make the kozambu to the consistency you require. This kozambu will thicken slightly when cool, so thin it accordingly.
• Add salt to taste as well as some jaggery if you find it spicy and let it cook till the orange peel and segments are fully cooked and the mixture becomes thick and reduces.
• Check for seasoning and switch off the gas.
• Serve hot with rice and any curry. Potatoes go very well with this kozambu.