In the Soup

“It breathes reassurance, it offers consolation; after a weary day, it promotes sociability… There is nothing like a bowl of hot soup…”
~ Louis DeGouy, The Soup Book

Soup, as the word goes, is supposed to be of unknown origin. One theory which is now widely followed states that 'Soup' originates from a word 'Sop', which is today bread meant for dipping in the soup.
There are some others who quote this 'the word soup of Gothic\English of unknown origin, a cognate of Soopa (Sanskrit) is likely a cognate of Persian/Arabic, shorba/shurba/sherbet.'
Shorba can be differentiated as shor meaning salty, and ba meaning water.
Well, as a whole, shorba has its roots in Persia and it came to India along with the Mughals. Biriyani, which is a native of Persia, the meat is to be cooked in shorba (broth).

Well there is someone, who seems to think that shorba is a maharashtrian dish, and it makes me wonder.

The first time I read about Shorba was while reading Khaleed Hosseini's 'The Kite Runner'. In the last century, during Eid, people in Afghanistan used to cook shorba with red meat, and bake fresh bread to go with it. This used to be taken to the mosque for the praying people to have. After reading about it in the book, the only thing I wanted to have was Tomato shorba and the easiest way of having it was to cook it myself. For that, the first thing I required was the recipe which I got from Cooking at Pragyan's .

Tomato shorba as compared to tomato soup is very light and spicier with a lot more herbs in it. The basic difference is the addition of coconut.

I made my own with a few variations though.

Ingredients:

3-4 large tomatoes
1 tbs gram flour
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
2-3 bay leaves
3-4 green chilies
1/4 tbs cumin seeds
1-2 cloves
3-4 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 tbs ground pepper
1 tbs oil
Salt to taste
1 tbs lemon juice or 1 tbs tamarind paste diluted in 1/4 cup water
Coriander sprigs for garnishing

Procedure:

Heat 1 cup of water in a pan. Dice the tomatoes in large cubes and add them to the pan. Also add the bay leaves, cloves, garlic and coconut. Let this simmer till tomatoes become soft. As the ingredients boil they give out a delightful aroma which fills up the kitchen.

Dissolve gram flour in 2 tbs of water. No lumps.

Once the tomatoes have softened, let the pan cool down. I prefer to pass the mixture directly though the blender. In case you do not like the tomato seeds, de-seed the tomatoes while dicing them.

Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Splutter cumin seeds. Add the green chilies. Pour in the mixture from the blender along with the dissolved gram flour. Also the lemon juice or diluted tamarind. Let the mixture boil for a minute or two.
Add salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped coriander.

This is my entry to
1. My own event This book makes me cook
2. Ragaa's MBP: soups and salads MBP: Soups and Salads

3. Spicy Tasty's Fortune Cooking Contest. I pick up Aries and Tomatoes.
4. Also is my inaugural post for the Recipe marathon, organized by Siri and DK.


Update from the ladies participating in the Recipe Marathon
Recipe Marathon Day 1 - Menu:

Siri has entered with Baked cauliflower in Marinara sauce

DK with her Bhindi Jaipuri
Swati come with Dum Ka Murg Zafrani
Divya Vikram with a Peas Kurma
Srivalli gets Chicken Semi Gravy.
Raaga gets her Masala Lauki Chana Dal

Current mood: .......

Current song: Lemon Tree (Sting)

Current book: Wuthering Heights