Restaurant-Style Tomato Soup

If you open a menu in a restaurant and look under Soups and Appetizers, 9 times out of 10 you are bound to find an entry for Creamy Tomato Soup. This soup has by-far always outweighed its competitors, and though there are many new flavours of soup being offered, Tomato Soup continues to be a favourite! I'm sure everyone must have tried making this at home, but for those of you who crave to create a restaurant-style version, here's a Tomato Soup recipe that is bound to hit the nail! It has been tried, tested and adored in our family for quite some time now.

Ingredients
8-10 large fresh plump tomatoes - chopped in chunks
1/2 cup onions - chopped
5-6 garlic cloves - cut into pieces
2 bay leaves
5-6 cloves (lavang)
1 tsp black pepper powder
salt - to taste
2 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp whipping cream (or fresh cream)
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp butter
6-8 cups of water (according to your desired consistency)
mint or coriander leaves - for garnish
cream or shredded cheese - for garnish
croutons (for garnish)

Method
Take a huge crock-pot and add the butter to it. When it melts, add the chopped onions and garlic, alongwith the bay leaves, red chilli powder and cloves. Saute for about 1-2 mins. Then add the tomatoes and fill with water so that water just barely covers the mixture. Partially cover the pot and let the mixture boil till all the tomatoes are well-cooked and almost-mashed.

Now take the pot off the stove and allow to cool to room temperature. Add the mixture to a blender (do it in 2 parts if necessary, do not overload the blender) and puree it to form a thick and smooth paste. Now take the pot and a colander (a sieve with a little bigger pores) and pass the blended mixture through the colander and into the crockpot. Gently rub your fingers through the sieve so that only the thick juice is collected in the pot and the residue stays behind in th colander.

Now put the pot on low flame again, add the salt, black pepper powder and slowly add the cream, a little at a time. Keep stirring to prevent the mixture to stick to the bottom. Add water as necessary to attain desired consistency. Do not make it too liquid. The cream gives you the beautiful orangish-reddish color you see in the picture, so do not think of omitting this! Let it cook for another 8-10 mins so that the cream blends well with the tomatoes and you can smell the aroma of the spices.

Once done, serve in soup bowls. garnish with cheese or cream and chopped coriander or mint leaves. This restaurant-style Tomato Soup goes best with breadsticks or Grilled Cheese Toast!

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