Tulsi Tamatar Shorba

Tomato Soup with Basil and Coriander

I come from a family where picky eating was frowned upon. So, I pride myself as someone who can pretty much manage everything. The big exception is soups. I am a bit annoying when it comes to soups. I don’t like creamy soups and I am more in favor of broth based soups. I seldom try out soups in restaurant as most of them are cream based. So, to my big surprise, when I recently tried out this tomato soup at a hotel in Hyderabad, I loved it! The flavors were clear and lovely. Highlight of the soup was the inherent coriander flavor that just left a lingering burst of flavor in my tongue. I had to meet the chef to get my hands on the soup recipe. Lucky me, the chef was more than happy to share this recipe with me :) – I made subtle changes and though it’s not 100% copy of the soup I had at the restaurant but it still packs in a punch and is delicious.

Tulsi Tamatar Shorba

Recipe type: Appetiser, Entree

Author: Suchitra Vaidyaram

A broth based flavorful tomato soup with Basil & Coriander

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium sized tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 tsp Roasted cumin powder
• 1 small carrot (chopped)
• 4 cloves of garlic (crushed and chopped)
• 1 small sized Apple (peeled and cut in cubes)
• 50 grams Coriander roots (don’t use the leaves)
• Salt according to taste
• 3/4 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• Black pepper (dash of it)
• Olive oil to saute (2 tbsp)
• 1 tsp dried Basil

Instructions

1. In a pan, heat oil and add chopped garlic. Allow the oil to absorb the garlic flavor.
2. Saute the garlic slowly and after a few seconds add the tomatoes, carrot, apple, salt, Kashmiri chili powder.
3. Add water and cook them for 45 minutes till the vegetables get tender and mashed.
4. Add the chopped coriander roots with pepper and cook for another two minutes.
5. Blend the mixture using a blender and strain with a soup strainer if you want a clear soup.
6. Else, you can keep the soup chunky and thick without straining it (that’s my preference).
7. Heat the soup again and add Basil and adjust the salt according to your taste.
8. Serve hot!

Notes

The original recipe handed by the chef had white pepper powder which i substituted to black pepper.
Chef had also asked me add honey (dash of it) towards the end to give it a glossy look- which I omitted.
The recipe also asks to use butter which i had to substitute to olive oil for health reasons.

Bread stix with a cumin twist!

Come winter, you always want to cuddle up with a hot soup at night. I have experimented with so many soups and probably have tried all the ready made soup versions I could find in the super market. The problem with soup is you want something crunchy to go along- something to dip in the soup. Garlic bread is my favorite and of course bread sticks taste great with any kind of soup- I did a batch of bread sticks and it tasted heavenly with my potato leek soup- Here is a simple recipe for bread sticks, enjoy!

Ingredients-

2 cups all purpose flour
cumin seeds approx 1tsp
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
lukewarm water to mix the dough
1tsp yeast

Preparation-

Mix the flour, cumin and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast, then make a well in the center of the dough. Pour in the warm water and start mixing the dough. Add the olive oil and continue to mix till it becomes a soft dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes till it becomes soft and elastic. Put the dough in a separate bowl and cover it with clear film and leave for about 1 hour till it has doubled in bulk. After an hour, press the dough to release the air and knead for 2-3 minutes. Divide the dough into small balls and start rolling them into long sticks. Place well apart on a baking sheet and leave it aside for 15 minutes till they become puffed up. Bake for about 15 minutes till it becomes crisp and golden in a preheated oven (220 degree Celsius). Enjoy!

Potato n leek soup

I am partial to non creamy soups- I like soups when the flavors come through without a heavy dosage of cream. Once we had a lunch at a fancy restaurant and I was given an option of soup or salad. I take the soup option after having heard about the amazing soups the restaurant had to offer. Out came the soup in a fancy bowl with a vibrant color. Unfortunately, the soup had a heavy cream and I could not feel the real taste of the leek or potatoes in them (it was a potato leek soup). I was so disappointed. A little cream is fine but when you overdo that in a soup, it just spoils the fun. If it is a vegetable soup, I will love to feel the flavor of that vegetable in that soup and cream should only play a second fiddle (in my opinion, do away with the cream please!).  So, here I am, with my quest for a perfect soup. I had an amazing opportunity to taste one of the best soups at a small restaurant near my office. The leek soup was perfect. My heart was filled with warmth after having that soup- And, I decided to recreate. I could not recreate it to perfection but I loved my simple soup and it was lovely for the nippy night in Basel! Enjoy-

Ingredients-


3 potatoes (peeled and chopped)
1 leek (washed and sliced)
salt (according to taste)
cooking oil
2 garlic cloves (crushed and chopped)
1 onion (chopped finely)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp freshly ground black or white pepper
1 cup vegetable broth (1 to 11/2 cups, enough to cover the potatoes for boiling)

Preparation-


Heat oil in a wok and saute onions, garlic and leek over moderate heat. Add potatoes, bay leaf and pour the vegetable broth to cover all the potatoes. Add salt and pepper. Allow the potatoes to cook till they are tender. Remove from flame and allow it to cool a bit. Pick out the bay leaf and puree the soup with a hand blender or a standard blender. Serve hot!