Tomato Soup With Smoked Chilli- Good Bye To The Old One

What does soup mean to you? Boring? Pale? For me, Soup means warmth and comfort. I like the one that is infused with flavours; the one that is hot; the one that calms you and soothes your soul. Weather has been pretty nasty these days and with such gloomy weather I can only think of warm cup of soup. Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavour. To bring the best outcome in the soup I always prefer roasting some elements, like roasted tomato garlic soup that I prepared during last winter was peppery and aromatic; or the roasted bell pepper basil soup that I posted was mildly sweet with strong flavours.

Roasting is my favorite thing. I have made lemonade with roasted oranges , pasta sauce with roasted bell peppers, fennel seeds roasted cherry tomatoes  and even roasted tomatoes chutney. The fact is, when you roast any fruit or vegetable, it releases its own juice and fragrant due to which the overall profile value of it intensifies. Also, after roasting you are left with strong smoked burnt flavour which is so sharp and intelligent that you will be hooked forever.

So keeping up my love for roasting, I prepared the good old classic tomatoes soup but with the hint of roasted green chilli in it. The tang of tomatoes and charred chillies balances the essence of the soup brilliantly. Perfect makeover to old boring tomato soup because with its each sip, you will get the zest smoked chilli which is amazing.  Serve on a rainy lazy day, or cold winter night with bits of roughly broken toasted bread. Nothing more, make your own batch and thank me later ;-)

Ingredients:

3 large tomatoes

1 clove garlic

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 green chilli

1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder

1 tablespoon corn flour

1 tablespoon butter

Method:

In a pressure cooker, put the tomatoes, salt and garlic with 2 cups water. Cook on high heat till 2 whistles.

Mix corn flour with 5 tablespoons water. Make a paste.

On a low flame, burn/roast the green chilli. Do this till chilli becomes black and smokey.

Blend the corn flour paste, roasted green chilli and pressure cooked tomatoes in the blender well. Sieve.

Heat another pan and add in butter. When butter melts, add the sieved soup. Also throw in sugar and cook on medium heat till the soup begins to boil.

Finally garnish with crushed black pepper.

Notes:

You can also add carrots and capsicum in the pressure cooker with tomatoes to boil.

You make this soup one day in advance before any party and just boil before serving.

It is not compulsory to sieve the soup, but sieving gives rich and smooth finish to the soup

Serving ideas:

Serve with croutons or toasted bread.

You can also serve the soup with crackers or soup sticks.

If you don’t want to serve with bread, throw in some boiled pasta or corn in the soup.

Roasted Tomatoes Garlic Soup With Baobab Fruit Powder

When most of the people are still cooking and enjoying pumpkin, I must say I am totally bored with them. I am so drained seeing and reading about pumpkin soups and dishes. No, soup is not the trouble; in fact I must mention that I am a soup devotee.  I read somewhere-“Worries go down better with soup” and I agree with this statement entirely.

Rainy day or a cold night- my husband and I wish to have a warm cup of soup. Now, we can’t have soups that look pale or colourless, we need spicy, rich and creamy ones. Tomatoes soup which is so common is also not our cup of tea; we find it very artificial in flavours and not up to the mark. So here is a makeover of the old boring tomato soup. Why not roast red plum tomatoes with garlic pods, black pepper, mixed herbs and bay leaf –sounds nice, isn’t it? Trust me when all these ingredients roasts with good dash of olive oil the whole kitchen oozes with aroma.  A perfect comforting soup!

No doubt that this is a very healthy soup, but another jewel in the crown is Baobab fruit powder from Eden Projects. I read a lot about Baobab fruit powder before accepting this product to review. Based on my research I can sum up that baobab fruit has six times more vitamin C than an orange and more calcium than a glass of milk. Baobab also benefits from having three times more iron than red meat, six times as much as potassium than in bananas and more than three times as much antioxidant than blueberries. Impressive- I thought in my mind and agreed to review it.

Eden Projects Baobab Fruit Powder is tangy in taste and thus makes it suitable for sweet and savory dishes. I used it in the soup as a tang booster and thickening agent. I always have used corn flour to thicken the soup, but this alternative proved out to be blessing, as it not only uplifts the taste but also increases its nutritional value. I am so very much going to use this healthy supplement and enjoy the virtues of this wonderful African super fruit.You can use it in to so many dishes, some of the suggestions from my recipes are:

• Add a teaspoon in paratha dough for enhanced nutrients.
• Zap up your salad and chutney by adding a sprinkle.
• Add to curries and soup to enhance the flavour and consistency.
• Simply muddle up in the patties for more zingy taste.

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes

4 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

5 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

10 Coriander sprigs

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

2 tablespoon baobab fruit powder

1 cup water

Method:

Preheat the oven at 200C. Take baking tray and lay silver foil on it.

Chop tomatoes in 4 parts and keep aside.

On the baking tray mix garlic, bay leaf, black peppercorns, coriander sprigs, tomatoes, oregano, basil olive oil, salt.

Roast everything together for 15 minutes. Once cooled, blend in the blender with 1 cup of water and keep aside.

Heat a pan and sieve the above blended mixture to it.

Take Baobab fruit powder and mix in 2 teaspoons of water and add with above mixture. Let it boil.

Notes:

I like the creamy soups, so I sieved it but this step is optional.

Add corn flour instead of Baobab fruit powder to adjust the consistency.

Disclaimer: I was not paid or told to write positive review. The post is based on my experience and is unbiased. Thanking Eden Projects for sending Baobab Fruit Powder for review.

Roasted Bell Pepper Basil Soup

Summers are over so is the hot weather. Autumn means cool weather, dark evenings...Soups are the perfect way to cheer up my mood. All I need in this weather is a hot cup of soup... Soup...Soup..Soup... :)

Ingredients:

•	Red capsicums, halved and seeded-5 medium
•	Yellow capsicums, halved and seeded-2 medium
•	Onion ,chopped-1
•	Garlic, crushed-4 cloves
•	Refined flour (maida)-1tbsp
•	Vegetable stock-5 cups
•	Fresh basil leaves-5-8
•	Salt-to taste
•	Sugar-1 tsp
•	Black pepper powder- 1/2 tsp

Method:
Prick the capsicums with a fork and roast them directly on flame on low heat till lightly charred. 

Plunge them into cold water, remove skin and chop them roughly. 

Place onion and garlic in a non-stick pan and roast on medium heat for a minute. Add refined flour and continue to roast for another minute till lightly browned or till fragrant. 

Add one cup of vegetable stock, capsicums and two to three fresh basil leaves. Stir and bring to a boil. 

Cover and simmer for three to four minutes. 

Cool and blend to a smooth puree. 

Transfer into a thick-bottomed pan, add the remaining stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add salt, sugar and black pepper powder. Simmer for two to three minutes. Serve hot garnished with the remaining fresh basil leaves. 

Notes: Above quantity made 4 bowls of soup. Adjust quantity as per the servings you want.

Green or Orange bell peppers can also be used.