• Heat some olive oil and butter on your pan. Add some garlic and onion to it once the butter has melted.

  Stir the onion and garlic for a minute but don’t brown it. Add the chilli powder with halved tomatoes with some hand torn basil leaves. Cook the tomatoes for 3-4mins till they start wilting, add water to the pan and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

  Once the tomatoes are considerably mashed remove them from heat and strain the tomato chunks. Blend them up once they cool down add them back to the strained soup.

  Bring the blended smooth soup to boil and add a pinch of black pepper and some sugar to taste (optional). Check & adjust salt and correct the consistency. It should be thick but pouring. Remove and serve it hot.

For Garlic Bread with Tomato Salad

• Mix chopped garlic with soft butter. Smear this butter on both sides of the bread.

  Toast this on a pan on medium heat to make them crisp. While it is cooking separately toss together tomato basil and olive oil.

  Once the bread is browned and crispy remove and top it with the quick tomato salad and serve it with the soup.

Tips and Tricks while making Tomato Soup

• Remember to balance the flavour of the local tomatoes according to the season. In India, summer tomatoes are tart while the winter ones are drier - so it’s important to account for those changes in your final recipe.

  It's always good to properly cook out the raw flavour of the tomatoes so as to make it more balanced and rustic.

  You can also make this soup in advance and freeze it for 6-8 weeks in portioned packets so it’s easy to take it out and consume it as per your requirement. It lasts for about 2-3 days in the fridge.