Does’nt matter what time of the day it is, I’m always ready for a bowl of soup and the first one I pick wherever I go is none other than “Tomato Soup”. On regular days, you will see me devour a bowl of creamy tomato soup and a french baguette on side at panera bread, absolutely with no guilt. But there are days when I tend to be diet conscious, resisting myself from take-outs or frequent stops at a nearby restaurant, and instead choose to cook at home. Here is a simple version of a home-made tomato soup from my cooking diary that I made countless number of times and never went wrong . Absolutely delicious, perfect on a rainy day and can be made in a jiffy with a handful of ingredients from your kitchen. For those of you who do not prefer to add cream can omit it or use light cream if you are health conscious. Lets take a peek at how we cook this:

Ingredients:

5 medium tomatoes

1 tbsp oil

1 bay leaf

4 spring onions or 1 medium onion (finely chopped)

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic (3 – 4 garlci cloves)

1 tsp black peppercorns (crushed)

3 cups water

2 tbsp cornflour

2 pinches of orange red food color

2 tbsps freshly chopped coriander for garnish

2 – 3 tbsps Cream (optional)

How To:

• In a deep sauce pan, add 3 cups of water and bring it to a nice boil. Meanwhile take the tomatoes and make slits with the edge of a knife (Do not cut them deep but just cross cut on the skin) . This would help to peel the skin off easily when they are boiled.
• When the water starts dancing, slowly add the tomatoes and leave them for 1/2 minute then take them out and peel off the skin. Roughly chop the tomatoes and set aside.
• In a heavy sauce pan, heat oil and throw in the bay leaf, chopped onions and fry on medium flame till the onions turn soft. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till they turn soft.
• Add salt, garlic, peppercorns. Fry for a  minute on medium flame.
• Add 3 cups of water. Stir, and gently simmer on low heat for 15-20 mts. Turn off the flame, allow to cool for a while and make a puree out of it in a blender.
• Meanwhile dissolve the cornflour with little water to make a thick paste and set aside.
• Return the pureed soup to the stove, add orange red food color, cornflour mixture slowly and stir on medium to low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes or till the soup turns thick. Adjust salt if required.
• Pour into bowls, garnish with freshly chopped coriander and cream. Serve hot with any apetizer or with plain papads.