#74 South Indian Chilli Water

I based this soup on a recipe I found in “Best Ever Indian Cookbook” by Mridula Baljekar, Rafi Fernandez, Shehzad Husain & Manisha Kanani

To serve 4
2 tbsp oil
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp asafoetida
10 curry leaves
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can of tomatoes
150 ml water
salt

First, put the tomatoes in a blender and process until smooth.
In a pan, heat the oil and fry the spices, chilli and garlic for ½ - 1 minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
Add the tomatoes, water and salt and cook on low heat for another 20 minutes.
Serve very hot.

Note: If you don’t like to eat whole spices, strain the soup just before serving.