Indian Tomato & Coconut soup with Chapati

We are starting a new culinary journey! This time we are going to explore the Indian cuisine. The first course is a delicious and simple Indian Tomato and Coconut soup with Chapati.

There is something incredibly fascinating about the Indian kitchen: all those spices, the colors, flavors, everything is so bold, intense and delicious.

I had several mentors along the way and was able to understand how to use the spices and recreate Indian flavors from scratch. It is my favorite cuisine and that’s why you can find many recipes here on my blog!

I was looking for a new soup and came across this recipe on the cookbook “Red Dot Melting Pot” (written by many of my dear friends and culinary sisters, the ladies of the International Cooking Club Singapore – ICCS). Thanks to Neha Srivastava Saxena for passing down her family recipe and sharing it with us! I made some minor adjustments to meet our taste.

I served the Indian Tomato and Coconut soup with homemade Chapati, a flatbread made of Indian wholewheat flour (called Atta) and water, rolled out thin and cooked quickly on a cast iron pan and finished directly on the burner. This makes it puff up. The piping hot chapati is then brushed with melted butter, ghee or olive oil for more flavor. Thanks, Brinda for showing and teaching us how to make this lovely bread!

The idea to pair Chapati with the soup was mine. Traditionally Chapati is eaten with stir-fried veggies, lentils, and curries. Soups are common in the northern part of India where they might substitute salads as a side dish and are generally served with bread rolls, thick bread slices or breadsticks, accompanied by (garlic-)butter.

Ingredients:

• 1 Kg well-ripened tomatoes on the vine
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 2 kaffir lime leaves (or the zest of 1/2 a lime)
• 250 ml of coconut milk
• salt & pepper to taste
• fresh coriander and black sesame seeds to decorate

Instructions:

1. In a large pot boil some water (enough to cover the tomatoes).
2. In the meantime wash them and with a sharp knife cut a cross in the skin of the bottom of each tomato.
3. Dip them in the boiling water and cook them 1-2 minutes, take them out and remove the skin (careful, hot!).
4. Puree the flesh in a blender.
5. Strain through a sieve. If you can’t find good tomatoes or want to take a shortcut, you can use 1 liter of plain tomato sauce instead of following instructions 1 to 5.
6. Heat up the olive oil (2 tbsp), add the cumin seeds (1/2 tsp), mustard seeds (1/2 tsp) and ginger (1tbsp) and let them sizzle.
7. Pour in your pureed and strained tomatoes or the tomato juice.
8. When it starts boiling, add the coconut milk (250ml) and reduce the heat.
9. The soup is ready when it starts boiling again.
10. Finish with salt, pepper and the kefir lime leaves (or lime zest).
11. Pour in individual bowls, sprinkle with black sesame seeds and fresh coriander leaves.
12. Enjoy with Chapati, Naan or rice.

Feeling hungry? How about complementing the soup with homemade Naan bread or a lovely butter chicken? All recipes on the blog in the India section!

What is your favorite Indian dish? I would love to know! Write it in the comments below!