One of the most common soups is tomato soup. I think most Indians would have had this at some point or other as it is the soup that was often served in restaurants in days of yore. There are several variations to a tomato soup. And there are Indianised versions of this soup. The recipe here is one such. It is quite easy to prepare (aren’t all soups easy to prepare?) and very delicious. This recipe too is from the iconic Tarla Dalal – except that I have made several changes from the original recipe to make it WFPB compliant. I have been a little hesitant to prepare a tomato soup as it was prevalent in all restaurants when I was growing up – and therefore translated (in my mind, at least) as an ordinary dish. But I re-discovered the the superb taste of a good tomato soup and it was a pleasure indeed.

Ingredients
4 cups finely chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
3 whole black pepper corns
1 tbsp rice flour (or any other compliant thickening agent)
1/4 cup tomato puree (pureed with the skin intact)
Salt and pepper to taste
Note: I left out the cream in the original recipe, but you can add 1 1/2 tbsp of fresh cream and another 2 tsp to garnish
Method
Add the tomatoes, pepper corns, bay leaf and tomatoes to a deep vessel
Add 1 cup of water
Cook on medium flame for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally
Remove the bay leaf and discard it
Let the mixture cool completely
Blend the mixture till smooth
Set aside
Mix the flour and a little water to make a smooth thickener (there must be no lumps)
Transfer the blended tomato to a deep vessel
Add the prepared flour thickener
Add the tomato puree and 1 cup water
Mix well and cook on medium flame for 1 minute
Add salt, pepper and cream (if using)
Mix well and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally
Remove from flame and serve hot (if using cream, use it to garnish before serving)
Enjoy!