Tamatar Dhaniya ka Shorba/ Tomato Soup

Winters are almost gone. 

Here in India, where I stay, winters come only for about 98 hours. Which is so not cool! cool.. winters... get it? get it?!

I know... sorry. 

And when winters do come, we all rejoice and take pleasure in relishing foods that can warm up our insides. 

Tamatar ka shorba or Tomato soup is one of those quintessential winter-y foods that we all truly love at our home. Its almost akin to a warm hug... a perfect cuddle. I usually take a huge bowl of this and usually a grilled cheese sandwich and a good book to read or a good movie... my idea of a perfect life. 

A shorba is a little different from traditional soups. The consistency is broth like. Its light and water-y. It came about from Persia and made its way to our kitchens since the times of mughals. Dhaniya or coriander is added to the shorba which adds a mellow fresh earthy flavour. 

Lets make it then, shall we...

Serves: 4

Complexity: **

Time taken: 30 mins

You'll need

3-4 tomatoes, quartered
3-4 cloves garlic
1" pc of ginger
1 green chili with seeds, split length-wise
1 bay leaf
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp coriander powder
5 cups of water
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
salt as required
1 tsp of sugar to balance the acidity
few stems of coriander leaves
slow roasted tomatoes for garnish (optional)
pinch of love

Method

In a sauce pan or a pot, take your quartered tomatoes.

Add the split green chili. I didn't de-seed it, I like a little heat.

In goes the ginger. If you want to make your shorba milder, go easy on the ginger. A half inch piece of ginger will suffice.

Next, the garlic cloves. 

The bay leaves

Garam masala for that beautiful blend of aromatic Indian flavours 

Pour in the water, about 900 ml for 4 tomatoes.

Cover the pot with a lid.  Place it on medium flame for about 20 mins to boil and simmer. 

Meanwhile, if you are going to garnish with slow roasted tomatoes, now is the time to place them in the oven. Season with salt, pepper and a little cumin

Drizzle some oil and place in a preheated oven for 20 mins at 200C.

As for the shorba, this is after 10 mins of boiling

And this is 20 mins later. The tomatoes have softened completely. 

Take the coriander powder and dry roast it over medium heat to release flavour. 

Keep roasting till the powder is golden brown in colour. 

Add this to the simmering pot. 

Take an immersion blender or pour this into a food processor and make a puree. 

Here's the puree

Sieve the puree so that you can get rid of the pulp and are left with a clear broth. 

Almost there now. A shorba is always tempered at the end. So for the tempering, take some oil on a medium low heat

When the oil starts to shimmer, add the cumin seeds to the oil and let them turn golden brown. 

Temper the shorba with the cumin. 

Add in the salt and sugar along with your pinch of love. Taste for seasoning. The Shorba will be dominantly tangy. 

Add in some coriander leaves and a few stems. The stems are bursting with flavour so please use them! 

To serve, ladle the shorba in a soup bowl. Add in the slow roasted tomato which will have charred a little bit around the edges and intensified in flavour. Add in a few more leaves of coriander. Mmmmmm.... my cup of perfect bliss. 

Indulge!