Hot and Spicy Tomato Soup :D

Hello Ya'll,

Been wonderfully jobless the past 2 months, and absolutely loving it ;-)

One of the many up-side of taking a break from working is that i get to cook!

i Love cooking, thats the only thing that reassures me that im creative too. Ive tried artwork, i have a set picture in mind which i want to paint, and i do my BEST to put on paper exactly whats on my mind. But th outcome is even more abstract than abstract itself. And to top it up, im the least patient person He's created.

But, since ive had a few Loyal fans of my cooking (Family and Him - simply because they dont have much choice :-p) I believe i cook quite Okay-Okay.

More often than not, i start cooking without knowing what i'll end up doing. I mean I know what th raw materials are and all, but if you asked me to give the dish a name, i'll just have to make it up. (Oh well, thats similar to my drawing then.. hmmm, point to ponder)

Wasn't feeling too well today (read : lazy-ish) and was craving for tomato soup (yeah, my favorite - i crave for it very often) and decided to flaunt my creativity while hoping it doesn't screw itself up ;-)

I started off by checking the fridge for tomatoes and yeay, there they were, chilling out. So for those interested, the recipe, below :-)

Ingredients for 2

3 medium sized ripe tomatoes.
2 cili padi merah (birds eye chilli -red)
2 dried chili
1 red onion (medium sized)
3 cloves of garlic
1 t/b yogurt
thin slices of ginger ( as much as you like)
few peppercorns
Salt to taste
Cardamom (single pod)
Butter and Oil

Yay, now that you've turned the house upside down looking for it,

1. Get a pan, add in a little oil (depending on how health conscious you are ;-) ) and heat it over low flame,
2. Dice the onion, and heat it in the pan, without letting it burn.
3. When it gets a translucent appearance, add thin striped of the garlic, ginger, chili's, peppercorn  along with the cardamom. Stir for a few seconds and add 2 diced tomatoes.
- you can remove the Chili seeds if you dont like it too spicy
4. Add salt (i added 1 teaspoon) and stir for a while over the low flame.
- You can add a little water let it simmer. Till the tomato gets real soft and the skin starts to peel off.
5. Blend the mixture or you can puree it in the pan, depending on the desired texture.
- remember to remove the cardamom prior to blending
6. Add a little butter in the pan, warm it and add the mixture to the pan. Add 1 cup water and 1 t/b yogurt and a littttle sugar. Let it simmer.
-Sugar can be omitted if yogurt is sweetened.
7. Remember the 3rd tomato left behind, blend it (raw) and once the mixture in the pan in suitably thick add it to the mixture. For the slightly raw and sour taste.
- You can add a little tamarind juice if you like.
8. Simmer till desired consistency. And its DONE :)

Now,  Serving suggestions ;-)

Have it by the window on a rainy day , watching raindrops dance while blasting Led Zeppelin ( Kashmir , When the Levee Breaks and the List goes On and On) .. Bliss.. And yes, thats exactly how I enjoyed my Bowl!

Do try it out and let me know how you liked it :-) (and on how you had your Soup )

p/s - It taste better when shared :-)
:-)