Tuesday, December 23, 2008

A Bowl of Hot Soup ... Anyone?

The cold wind, the rain, temperature dipping to -2 C made me feel very lazy. I was craving for a hot bowl of soup. Hubby suggested that we go out for dinner , but I did not feel like wearing layers and layers of cloths to just go to a restaurant. I had all the necesary items at home. So decided to make some soup for dinner. I did not have any recipe in mind just tossed few ingredients in hot Olive oil and poured water into it and pressure cooked for sometime. Could it get any easier?? By this time I was feeling warm due to the little cooking and got in the mood to make some Pizza to go with tomato soup. I scanned the pantry and found all items available. I had bookmarked this Pizza from Shilpa's blog. I felt this was very good for beginners and it actually tasted good. I followed the recipe for crust and when the dough rose well, I was very pleased. However, I felt that the smell of the yeast was overpowering. When I asked Harini and Aparna about this they suggested that I try using fresh yeast next time or a new batch of yeast. Thank you both for the suggestion. I will buy a new batch next time. But wanted to post it here for my future reference.

For soup here is what's needed:
2 big tomato's roughly chopped 
1 medium carrot roughly chopped
1 medium Onion roughly chopped
4 cloves of Garlic roughly chopped
small piece of Ginger chopped
2 cloves
4 whole black pepper
a generous pinch of Cinnamon powder
Salt and Pepper powder to taste
a pinch of Sugar
1-2 tbsp of Cornflour
Olive oil
Coriander leaves chopped to garnish
Procedure:
1)In the pressure cooker pan, Heat Oil and add ginger,garlic, and slightly crushed whole spices. Sauté it for a min. Add Onions and again sauté it for a min or two. Add in the tomato and cook slightly for a min before adding the carrots. Add in cinnamon powder and salt. Add 1.5 cups of water and pressure cook until done. Let it cool completly before running it through blender. I do not strain it.
2) If preferred, add a tad bit of butter and pour the liquid into it. Add 2-3 cups of Water depending on the quantity of soup. Give it a rolling boil. Take 1/4 cup of water. Add a tbsp of cornflour and mix it well with no lumps. Pour this misture into the boiling soup. Give it a good boil. Add salt, pepper powder and a pinch of sugar. If you feel that the soup is thin you may add more cornflour to water and add it to the soup. Garnish with finely chopped Corinader leaves.
Serve hot with croutons. We had ours with small Pizza topped with Onion and Capsicum. I also used very little amount of grated cheese.















P.S:I did not add any milk or butter to this soup. Potato can also be used in this soup and any fresh herb can be added to this. 

Update: Trupti just reminded me that this fit perfectly for her "Winter Treat event". Thank you Trupti :)



30 comments:

Sanghi said...

Lovely Ujwal. Here's its non-stop raining with cold winds. This recipe is ideal for me..
thanks for posting!

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

wow.. those pizzas look so pretty. just perfect for this weather. i am ready to have both pizza and soup.

Trupti said...

soup with pizza ..perfect for this winter season ..
If you want you can send this recipe to my Winter Treat Event

Varsha Vipins said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog Ujwala..:)..Pls be around..
You have a lovely space here..I loved this idea of soup plus Pizza..Here also its freezing cold..:)
I am following you..:)

Unknown said...

its bit cold here today and wish i had that bowl of soup here along with that yummy soup..

Unknown said...

i meant pizza ,,sorry!!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

I know you said it had a yeasty smell, but your pizza looks delicious.

Best wishes for the festive season and a Happy New Year.

Shama Nagarajan said...

good perfect winter combo..lovely

Unknown said...

LOoks nice & delicious... Perfect.. i i made it also same method...

Jaishree Iyer said...

Wow! soup with pizza look so pretty.Merry christmas & happy holidays ujwal:)

Anonymous said...

Me Me... I want that soup. U have added really nice things in it & a pizza to go with it sounds just perfect.

vidhas said...

yummy soup , looks gorgeous. with pizza great going

Namrata Kini said...

Soup and Pizza look gr8 Ujwal. Perfect combo for the season. I also don't like to strain my soup. But i remove the skin of the tomatoes before blending it.
Merry Christmas.

Sunshinemom said...

Me me, for the question you asked! What a perfect combo it must have been - esp. for you with the cold there! Happy New Year and enjoy the Season:)

Gita Jaishankar said...

Pizzas and soup is a comforting dinner on a freezing night, both look so good :)

Sharmi said...

hand me that bowl of soup!! looks so comforting. it is snowing out here:)

Priya Suresh said...

Soup n pizza, prefect dinner...am drooling over the soup, looks delicious..

Yasmeen said...

warming soup with home made pizza ,making me hungry:)

Divya Kudua said...

Such a comforting dinner Uj..would love to have that soup bowl and a slice of pizza for myself;-).I tried making my first pizza using Shilpa's recipe too..comes out great..you are tempting me to make it again..;-)

Red Chillies said...

Very nice combination and the soup looks warm and inviting. I am like you too. I don't feel like going out and having food even if I am tired and cold. Prefer to cook something simple at home.

Happy Holidays to you all Uj.

CurryLeaf said...

Nice Combo for winter.HAPPY HOLIDAYS again

Srikitchen said...

wow! yum and mouthwatering!

Sanghi said...

Have tried out ur Zebra cake yesterday turned out well. Have tagged you in my blog and have a card too. Do kindly check it..!

Cham said...

Soup are great warming idea for bitter cold nights ! perfect bowl!

Vaishali said...

Pizza and tomato soup sounds like the perfect meal for a cold winter's day, Uj. Love the color of that soup.

anudivya said...

Oh yes, I would love to get my hands on those bowls right now... it is cold and snowing and I am craving for some warm stuff!
Happy Holidays!

notyet100 said...

hmmm warm enough for cold winter nights,..u can send them for truptis winter treat event..:-)

notyet100 said...

hmmm warm enough for cold winter nights,..u can send them for truptis winter treat event..:-)

Uj said...

Sanghi,
The weather is similar here :(

Mahimaa,
Please come home. I will surely make this for you :)

Trupti,
Thanks dear. I have sent it and updated the post.

Varsha,
Definitely and thanks for adding me.

Sowmya,
you are invited anytime :)

Aparna,
Thank you and wish you the same.

Shama,
Thanks dear

SK,
Thanks. Good to know that you use the same method too.

Jaishree,
Thank you dear

Soma,
Please do come home. will make it for you

Vidhas,
Thanks.

Namrata,
oh peeling the skin is new to me. Will try next time.

Harini,
Yes it was perfect combo :D

Gita,
yes it is indeed comfort dinner.

Sharmi,
ha ha ha.. the bowl is all yours :D

Priya,
Thanks

Yasmeen,
Thanks

Divya,
That recipe did wonders actually. Good to know.. hurry of and make a pizza :D

RC,
Looks like we have a lot of things in common. Thank you dear. wish you the same. Hope you had good holidays.

Curry Leaf,
Thanks

Sanghi,
Thank you dear.

Cham,
Yes they are :)

Vaishali,
Thank you dear.

Divya,
Come over.. thanks and same to you.

Notyet100,
Thanks

Vishali said...

wow Ujwal the tomato soup is mouth watering and is good one for winter .....its a perfect appetizer for our climate here.

Happy New Year to you and your family.