Tomato Soup

Tomato-Basil Soup

ingredients

• 3-1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup finely chopped onion (1 large)
• 1-1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1-1/2 cups finely shredded Gruyere or Emmentaler cheese (6 ounces)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon Armagnac or cognac (optional)

directions

1. Set aside 1 tomato. To peel remaining tomatoes, dip in boiling water for 30 seconds or until skins start to split. Dip in cold water. When cool enough to handle, remove skins and core tomatoes. Coarsely chop; set aside.
2. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Add the chopped tomatoes. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Transfer tomato mixture in batches to a food processor or food mill. Cover and process until smooth. (If using a food mill, discard tomato seeds and onions.) Return pureed mixture to pan. Meanwhile, finely chop basil; reserve 1/4 cup.
4. Stir remaining basil, the salt, and pepper into tomato mixture. Heat through. Add cheese, cream, and, if desired, Armagnac. Heat and stir until cheese is just melted.
5. Chop remaining tomato; combine with reserved basil. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with chopped tomato and basil. Makes 6 servings.

recipe source BHG.com

Dum Aloo

Ingredients for dum aloo:

                

900gms Aloo (Potatoes)

33/4th cups water

Salt To Taste

Ghee or oil for deep-frying

1 cup ghee

1 large Onion (finely chopped)

4 tbsp tomato puree

140 ml curd

4 tbsp hot water

1 green pepper (seeds removed and sliced)

1tsp garam masala powder

Spices

4 cloves

4 bay leaves

6 black peppercorns

4 green cardamoms

1 brown cardamom

1piece cinnamon stick

Paste

1 large onion (chopped)

12 flakes garlic

2 tbsp ginger

6black peppercorns

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 dry red chilies

1 tsp turmeric powder

A pinch of ground mace

A pinch of ground nutmeg

How to make kashmiri dum aloo:

Scrape the aloo (potatoes), prick all over with a fork and soak in the water with little salt for 2 hours.

Dry the potatoes on a cloth and heat the ghee or oil.

Deep fry the potatoes until golden brown. Drain and set aside.

Heat the measured ghee in a flameproof pan and fry onions with all the spices until golden.

Grind the paste ingredients to a fairly smooth paste and stir into the onions.

Cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree, curd and salt.

Add the aloo (potatoes) and hot water and stir over a low heat for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the dum aloo with pepper and garam masala and cook for few minutes.

Recipe Source: Indianfoodforever.com

Image Source: Nandyala.org