Tomato Soup

 

A bowl of hot nourishing soup offers comfort and the nourishment required after a day of slogging at your job. It also hydrates your body and the herbs and spices are soothing for a parched throat.

And if you are sick, a hot bowl of our favourite soup is all that we want.

In these covid times, many of us have turned to hot teas, hot water, and some of us to soups and stews. Put some meat and vegetables, noodles pasta or rice, season with herbs and spices and you have a bowl of nourishing stew.

 Making soup appears easy,  it is but with the right ingredients and correct measurements. 

If you are new to cooking soups and stews I would suggest keeping a precooked chicken or vegetable stock handy. Just freeze it and it's useful when time is short on your hands.

I will mention a quick way of making stock at the end of the article.

You can add potatoes to make the soup thick instead of cornflour slurry

Feel free to use flavour enhancers, onions, garlic, peppers, herbs and butter.

Stews are an all-time favourite especially in the cold months as it's a time when there is an abundance of winter vegetables.

Sharing an all-time favourite of most people

Tomato shorba(soup)

Ingredients

• 600 gms of ripe fleshy red tomatoes
• 1 tsp crushed garlic 
• 1 green chilly de seeded and finely chopped 
• 1 tbsp of salted butter
• Salt to taste
•  1 tsp fresh pepper-corn coarsely crushed
• Coriander stems for flavour
• 1 tsp whole coriander seeds crushed 
• 1 black cardamon& 2 cloves

Directions

• In a heavy bottom pan
• Add 1 tsp butter and very little refined oil 
• Lightly saute the garlic and green chilly till the colour changes
• To this add finely chopped tomatoes,  black coriander and cloves and season with salt.
• Lightly roast the tomatoes till the stop smelling raw. (5-7 minutes)
• Add vegetable stock ( 4 cups)
• Add coriander stems
• Cover and cook for 25 -30 minutes over a moderate flame.
• Remove, cool, and strain.
• Bring the liquid portion to boil and season with salt if required.
• Add pepper and some butter.
• To thicken add a thin cornflour slurry(1 tsp cornflour mixed with cold water)
• Let it boil for 2-3 minutes
• Remove

Note

Add sugar if tomatoes are sour.

To make vegetable stock add leftover veggies, vegetable peels, put some garlic cloves and salt and pepper bay leaf and water, bring to a boil and let it simmer on a slow flame for 45 minutes. You replace vegetables and use chicken bones.

Strain and refrigerate

De freeze and use in your soups