Simple Tomato Soup!

We have different types of soups every night at home.  I have already posted 'Mixed vegetable soup' here: 

This one is one of the favourites of our family:

Ingredients:

1. 2 tomatoes, chopped

2. 4/5 Shallots (Saambaar vengaayam) or normal onion, chopped

3. 4/5 cloves of garlic, chopped

4. 1 carrot, peeled and chopped

5. A small piece of capsicum (just for flavour)

6. 2 Bay leaves

7. 1/2 tbs. butter.

8. 2 tsp. of Milk powder to give a creamy taste.

9. 1/2 tsp. Sugar, Salt and Pepper as per your taste.

Method:

Take a small pan.  Heat it. Put the butter.  

Add the Bay leaves (cut into small pieces), turn a bit.  

Add Onion, Garlic and fry a bit.  

Add capsicum, carrot pieces and the rest of the ingredients. Fry some more.  

Add sugar and salt.  Add a cup of water.  

Put a lid on the pan and cook for 5 mts.  Let it cool.

Put all these ingredients in a mixer and grind. Add the milk powder in the last run.

Strain in a strainer, not tea strainer but in a strainer with a bit big holes. You can add water, around 3/4 cups or according to your taste.  Thin soup or a bit thick soup!

Boil it, add pepper powder.  

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves! Your tasty soup is ready! 

Try it and tell me if you like it!

P.S.: Variants: You can add a few drumstick leaves or methi leaves while cooking the ingredients.  It will give a different flavour. 

Mixed Vegetable Soup - Easiest Way!

We, I and my husband, have 2 cups each of mixed vegetable soup,  a couple of phulka rotis with some subji or a couple of slices of bread, at night, nowadays.  The soup is very easy to prepare.   Just try this soup sometime and tell me if you like it!

Ingredients for 4 medium sized bowls of soup:

1. 3-4 Beans
2. 2 Medium sized carrots (washed and peeled)
3. Some green peas
4. 1 Baby corn kernel 
5. 1/2 slice of capsicum for flavour (Optional)
6. 4-5 Badams/almonds for the creamy taste
7. A pinch of sugar

You can add anyother vegetable also. Anyway you will grind everything together! 

For garnishing:

1. 1/2 slice of onions, chopped finely
2. 1/2 tsp. of ginger garlic paste or half tsp. of finely chopped ginger, garlic
3. 1/2 tsp. butter
4. 1/4 tsp. of jeera/cumin seeds
5. 1/2 tsp. of chat masala
6. 1/2 tsp. of pepper powder
7. Salt to taste

Method:

I cook all the vegetables/badam/sugar etc. with some water in a vessel in the cooker along with rice/dhal in the morning itself. Then keep it in the fridge.  If the vegetables are cooked in cooker, they will become very very soft.

Then grind it well with more water, which is the first step.  Place a heavy bottomed vessel/pan on the stove.  Heat the butter. As soon as it melts, add cumin seeds. Leave for a second, then add onions.  Mix for a few seconds until it is transparent.  Add the ginger garlic paste.  Mix for another second.  Pour water.  On the whole 4 cups of soup should be there.  Add chat masala, pepper powder and salt.  Bring it to a boil.  Just let the foam form on top of the soup.  Switch off the stove.

Your swaadhisht soup is ready! Take it a bit watery or slightly thick, whichever way you like.  After a couple of times, you will know to adjust the taste of pepper salt, masala etc. You can add some Vendhayak keerai (methi leaves) or murungai keerai (drumstick leaves) in the end before the soup starts boiling. This will add more nutrition to the soup. Add very little though, so that the soup doesn't become very thick.

Enjoy