Recipe: Crispy orange, pomegranate-glazed chicken on herbed basmati rice

Ingredients

Chicken
5 (750g) skinless chicken breasts, deboned
90g cake flour
65g cornflour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, totaste
2 large eggs
15ml (1 tbsp) milk
Oil, to deep-fry

Glaze
250ml (1 cup) orange juice
180ml (¾ cup) pomegranate juice
100g brown sugar
30ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice
15ml (1 tbsp) Worcestershire sauce
5ml (1 tsp) garlic, finely chopped
5ml (1 tsp) ginger, finely grated
2,5ml (½ tsp) dried chilli flakes
Zest of 1 orange
30ml (2 tbsp) cold water
15ml (1 tbsp) cornflour

Rice
20g cooked basmati rice, warm
60ml (¼ cup) fresh parsley, finely chopped
60ml (¼ cup) fresh coriander, finely chopped
30ml (2 tbsp) fresh basil, finely chopped
Salt and freshly groundblack pepper, to taste

To serve
180g pomegranate rubies
2 (50g) spring onions, thinly sliced
2 (5g) small green chillies, thinly sliced
60ml (4 tbsp) coriander, finely chopped

Method

1. For the chicken, cut the breasts into bite-size pieces. Combine the cake flour and 65g cornflour and season to taste. Combine the eggs and milk and whisk until smooth.

2. Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or deep pot to 180°C (check the temperature with a sugar thermometer if using a deep pot). Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, followed by the flour mixture. Fry the chicken pieces off in batches, 2-3 minutes each, until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towel.

3. For the glaze, place the orange juice, pomegranate juice, brown sugar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, ginger, chilli flakes and orange zest in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer, 10 minutes. Combine the water and 15ml (1 tbsp) cornflour and whisk in 60ml (¼ cup) of the warm juice mixture. Pour it all back into the remaining warm liquid and whisk until smooth. Simmer, 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add the fried chicken pieces and simmer, 2 minutes. Season to taste.

4. For the rice, stir all of the ingredients together and season to taste.

5. To serve, place the chicken on herbed rice and add a sprinkling of pomegranate rubies, spring onions, small green chillies and scatter over 4 tbsp fresh coriander.