Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup

Serves: 2-3 persons

Is there anything better than a bowl of fresh tomato soup on a snowy day? My family loves tomato soup anytime and it is literally a comfort food for us. We usually pair it with any vegetable rice, or paratha, or even a simple grilled cheese sandwich!

I have tried so many different recipes. Tomato soup has some key ingredients like canned or fresh tomatoes, fresh cream and a chicken/vegetable broth. They are all good but, when I tried this recipe, I was totally in love with it. (The recipe's credit goes to my sister-in-law who is younger than me but very efficient in cooking and baking.)

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This recipe uses some Indian spices which can be easily available at any Indian grocery store. Also, I cooked the tomatoes in a pressure cooker. If you don't have one, you can cook on a stove top. Pressure cooker makes this process little faster.

Do give a try to this recipe and let me know your feed back.

Ingredients:

• 5 large tomatoes roughly chopped
• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-3 cloves
• 2-3 black peppercorns
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 2–3 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoon Oil
• Chopped cilantro
• Salt as per taste
• 2 cups of water

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add bay leaf, cloves, black pepper and cinnamon. After 5-6 seconds add chopped onions and saute till the onions become translucent.
2. Add the tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes become soft. Transfer it to the pressure cooker with 2 cups of water. Now cook the mixture for 3 whistles.
3. Blend the mixture to smooth puree once it gets cool. Strain this mixture through strainer.
4. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in another pan. Add corn starch and stir vigoursly to avoid lump formation. Pour the strained mixture to the pan.
5. Add sugar and salt. Boil until thick consistency is reached.
6. Serve it hot with some fresh cream and chopped cilantro on the top.

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Anda Curry or Egg Curry

Anda Curry or Egg Curry

Serves: 4 persons

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Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 3 tomatoes grated
• ½ cup fresh grated coconut
• 3-4 garlic pods chopped
• ½ inch ginger cut into pieces
• 1-2 green chillies
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ tablespoon corriander powder
• ½ tablespoon red chilli powder
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 cup hot water

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Method:

1. Boil eggs in enough water. Keep it aside.
2. Heat a pan and add a tablespoon oil in it. Add sliced onion and stir. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 10 seconds.
3. Add grated coconut. Mix well. Cook this mixture for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the flame and let the mixture cool down completely.
4. Once it is cooled down, add it to the blender and grind to a smooth paste by adding little water.
5. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. Let them crackle. Add the grinded paste into the oil. Cook this mixture on a medium flame.
6. Add grated tomatoes and cook until the raw smell of tomatoes goes away. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, salt, garam masala, cumin and corriander powder. Stir the mixture well and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Add hot water. It will start boiling. Remove the eggs from the water. Peel the skin and cut the eggs into half.
8. Add these eggs into the curry. Let it cook for 5-6 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
9. Serve hot with roti or rice.

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