As always, Amma promises you simple recipes, the kind that you will actually make and not longingly admire on the page. Considering how easy it is to get actually ripe tomatoes in India, it is a wonder that dry soup mixes even make it to market. Their appeal could be that they are popular in Western countries where the growing season is shorter and “vine ripened” tomatoes merit special announcement in the grocery store. Here we get tomatoes that are heavy with juice, red through and through and bursting with flavor.

Soup simmers in iron wok
The yumminess of this soup depends on the tomato so don’t try this if the inside of your tomato looks pale and hollow. Most of the soup mixes and cans use an inferior quality of tomato and add sugar, fat and artificial flavor to compensate. A fresh, ripe tomato Read the rest of this entry »