peppy orange juice appetiser

The recipes with orange fruit continue! Squeeze the juice of 3 to 4 medium size oranges [once again the kamala orange type]. In the US, I would use tropicana or any natural orange juice of the cartons. Keep aside.

In a saucepan, melt a heaped tablespoon of ghee. Coarsely powder pepper, jeera [cumin seeds] and add to the heated ghee. Add a generous pinch of hing, and karuvapilai leaves. Measure the orange juice. Add an equal measure of water in the saucepan. Add an amount of salt and sugar that you think will help accentuate the tangy taste. Let it boil [note that adding the juice from the beginning and letting boil may make it bitter].
Reduce the heat, and slowly add the orange juice. Squeeze the juice of half or full of a golf sized lemon.
[the amount of pepper used makes it peppy, and is important to use it coarse]

I tried a variation - I grated a juicy beetroot, extracted the juice and used it as the base, instead of water. The iron in it needs the vitamin C to digest anyways. The taste was excellent, not to miss the nutritive iron gain from it!
{History - My mom learnt it from a fond friend during our growing years in Bombay. The lady in turn had just returned from a stay in Rome and would serve it as a Mediterranean appetizer. Now I guess we have patented it as amma's winter special}