I obviously cannot replicate soup from India here in the US (again, the tomatoes over there...); but I do my best by making it at home from scratch. I also include a roasted red bell pepper to my soup because it adds a sweetness which is a nice balance to the acidity of the tomatoes.
Remove them from the water and let them cool before removing the skins. (this is a good time to chop the onion and garlic!). Once the skins are off, dice the tomatoes.
Meanwhile, prepare to make a chutney grilled cheese sandwich to accompany your soup! I used whole wheat grain-free bread (Ezekial brand), provolone cheese, and my homemade spicy cilantro mango chutney. If you don't have time to make your own, you can always buy chutney at the Indian grocery store!
Ingredients (for 2-4 people)
| Ingredients (for 4-8 people)
|
- Sliced bread
- Provolone cheese
- Hari (spicy mango cilantro) chutney, or any chutney of your choice
Ingredients for Chutney Grilled Cheese:
Equipment:
- Large pot
- Aluminum foil and tongs or oven
- Plastic bag
- Blender
Recipe:
- Rub olive oil on the red bell pepper and cover in aluminum foil. Roast the pepper over an open flame for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pepper using tongs every 4-5 minutes. If you don't have a gas burner, you can use your oven to roast the bell pepper.
- While the bell pepper roasts, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cut crosses into the tops of the tomatoes and add directly into the boiling water. Allow the tomatoes to sit in the water for 1-2 minutes, until the skins start coming off.
- Remove the tomatoes from the water and allow them to cool before peeling off the skins and dicing the tomatoes.
- Finely mince the garlic cloves and onion.
- Once the bell pepper is roasted, remove it from the foil and add it to a plastic bag. Close the bag and allow the steam to help soften the bell pepper for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the bell pepper from the bag and cut it open. Allow the steam to escape and once cooled, remove the seeds and skin from the bell pepper (which should come off easily) using your hands. Chop the flesh of the bell pepper.
- Add the olive oil and butter to a pot over low heat and allow the butter to melt completely. Add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves and stir to coat. Increase the heat very slightly, allowing the onions to soften, roughly 6-8 minutes. Do not turn the heat up high because you do not want the onions to brown!
- While the onions cook, puree the tomatoes and bell pepper in a blender.
- After the onions have softened, add the flour to the pot. Stir quickly to combine all the ingredients and create a roux.
- Add the tomato-bell pepper puree, water, sugar, and salt to the pot and stir to combine, paying special attention to scrape the bottom of pan to ensure the flour is not sticking to the bottom.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil. Then lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for 25-30 minutes. After the soup is done simmering, taste and add more salt as needed.
- Add fresh black pepper, cilantro, and a dollop of yogurt, sour cream, or cream to the soup before serving.