Tomato Soup


Before the ‘spectacular’ express highway, the cheapest and most convenient way to make a Bombay-Pune journey was with a ride on the Deccan Queen. A 180 km journey that took anywhere between 3½ - 4 hours on a good day. The journey would actually begin way before the day of actual travel by a trip to a little place known as the booking office. A small self-standing structure in the middle of nowhere, where you were served by indifferent civil servants from behind rusty windows. Some of the things you were never served, however, were proper information, prompt service or, heaven forbid, a smile. The chances of you actually getting a reservation instead of being wait-listed were pretty slim. Even as you enter Pune Station through parking, it looks like a haphazard mess. As you arrive inside you see that the rails and platforms thrown together by some eager engineer who made the mistake of believing himself. 6:30 a.m. is probably the most bearable time to be there, as people who fell asleep on the platform the night before aren't completely awake yet.

Once on the Deccan Queen, things are pretty smooth sailing, if you accept all things as they are. No sooner has the train crossed city limits, somewhere around Talegaon, the waiter comes by to take your breakfast order. One thing that has always impressed me about the railway food service on Indian Railways is the waiters. They manage to take down the order of an entire car of over 100 people without writing anything down and then bring you your entire order without screwing anything up. Of course it helps that there are only a couple of items on the menu. Omelet bread, which consists of two slices of bread and an omelet bathed in a stream of pure fat. A cheese toast (pronounced chis-toz), which strangely is neither cheese, nor toast and of course there was the usual tea or coffee. The other thing on the menu was the tomato soup; a thin, thimble-sized plastic cup of foaming brownish-red goodness. This was quite possibly the most vile tasting (and smelling) version of the soup and one can only conclude that it came out of one of those Nestlé machines. Not that it ever stopped anyone from ordering one. Coz’ nothing says good morning in the Sayadhris like instant soup and flirting with the langoors on monkey hill.

Ingredients
  • 6 Tomatoes (medium size)
  • 1 Beet
  • 1 tsp Butter
  • ½ tsp Black Pepper
  • ½ tsp Cumin Powder
  • 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
  • 4 tsp Heavy Cream
  • Salt to taste
Method
  • Boil tomatoes and beet in water for 15 min till tomatoes appear completely boiled.
  • Allow it to cool and then blend the tomatoes and beets together to a puree
  • Using a sieve strain the seeds and skin and place the juice aside
  • In a pot heat the butter and add ginger-garlic paste, cumin and pepper to it
  • Once the ginger-garlic paste sizzles, add the tomato juice and allow it to cook for 10 min
  • Serve hot and garnish with heavy cream and mint

Comments

Manasi said…
Oh yes... Bombay- Pune - Deccan Queen... Dhakkan chi Rani! Tomato Soup an Cutlet Bread! Fond Memories!
the last time i stood at a tix counter about 3-3 1/2 yrs ago, things had still not changed!
Tee said…
mmmm....the good old days of deccan queen and the breakfast !!! loved their omlet bread!
This soups looks delicious :)
Anonymous said…
Yes yes i remember while on our way to lonavla in this deccan queen,the so called staff ,would move to and fro the compartment with the stainless steel huge kettle and use and throw glasses ..i first thought it might be tea and coffee,but after they came closer and yelled in almost our ears..TEMATO SOUP..was i able to understand that the kettle (and even steel tanks with tap)actually has tomato soup....lol
urs look lovely,i also make soup almost in similar way,to enjoy rainy evenings
Pooh said…
This looks so simple! Thanks for sharing!
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Sunshinemom said…
Beautiful colour! Despite the taste, the thin spicy soup given by the Nestle Machine is still a wake up call!
Sonia said…
Hahaha - you are so right on the soup in the train !!Disgusting !!! But it always always looks mighty tempting and even though I know better, I fall for its charms on every India visit !
Admin said…
Packed with antioxidants like lycopene, it promotes heart health and reduces the risk of chronic diseases. The vitamins A and C in tomatoes support immune function and skin health, while the potassium aids in maintaining blood pressure. Additionally, the soup's low calorie and high water content make it an excellent choice for weight management. Check here for tomato souphealth benefits in detail.

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