Tomato Shorba

Tomato Shorba, an ideal appetizer for a cold wintery night has a strong and flavored taste with a combination of spicy, sour and sweet taste. It is a spicy and flavored thick tomato based recipe which is served just before the main course. 

Now, let me share a few tips and suggestions to make spicy and flavored tomato shorba. First, I would recommend you to use the ripe tomatoes as they add a perfect sour and sweet taste to the shorba. Second, adding besan is completely optional and you may skip them if you want to. However, adding besan helps in giving a nice creamy texture to the shorba. Third, adding carrot is also optional, however adding them would increase the thickness and texture of the soup. Also adding carrot will also increase the sweetness of the shorba. Finally, the shorba can also be pressure cooked for 5 whistles instead of boiling them in kadai and then juice can be extracted. 

Servings:- 2 servings

Course:- Soup

Cuisine:- North-Indian

Ingredients:-

3 tomato, cubed

1/4 carrot, roughly chopped

3 tsp oil

1.5 bay leaf

1 inch cinnamon

2 cloves

2 pods cardamom

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp gram flour/besan

2 tbsp coriander stem, chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp black pepper powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 cup water

Method:-

1. Firstly, in a large kadai heat 3 tsp oil and saute bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and cumin seeds. 

2. Next, add ginger-garlic paste and saute until the raw aroma disappears. Further add besan and roast them until it turns golden brown. 

3. Now, add coriander stem and cubed tomato. Saute them for 4-5 mins or until the tomato softens. Further add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder and salt. Saute them for a minute or two. 

4. Further add 2 cup water, cover and boil them for 30-35 mins or until the tomatoes are cooked properly. 

5. Next, mash the tomatoes very well and extract the juice from it. Sieve the mixture to separate the pulp from the juice. 

6. Now, transfer the pulp into the blender and blend them to a smooth paste. Sieve the blended paste in the extracted tomato juice and discard the seeds. 

7. You may add in a tsp of sugar if the tomatoes are sour. Further simmer and boil the shorba for 2-3 mins until the spices are well combined. 

8. Finally, garnish the tomato shorba with coriander leaves and serve immediately.