This Indian spiced tomato soup (tomato curry) is the perfect warm-weather soup! It’s simple, light, and refreshing.
If you’re wondering how to use up your ripe Roma tomatoes, this is the soup to make! It’s wonderful over my cumin-spiced rice or pea pulao and a side of sliced cucumbers. A fresh and light meal.
For this soup, I use ripe Roma tomatoes. They’re sweet and hearty tomatoes with plenty of flesh – they give the soup body. If your tomatoes aren’t ripe, a bit of sugar helps counter any tartness.
My mom taught me the recipe for this simple dish. My grandma made it for my mom nearly every Sunday afternoon in the summertime when she was a kid in India. She and her brothers and sisters would eat this tomato curry overtop some basmati rice or matar pulao or jeera rice – and that would be their lunch.
My grandma wouldn’t blend her tomato curry – but I think doing so ensures that all the flavors come together nicely. You can serve this dish without blending it too – for something a bit more rustic. If you do that, I’d suggest dicing/mincing the ingredients rather than roughly chopping as is written in my recipe.
Hope you enjoy this tomato curry!
Tomato Curry
Tomato Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil of choice
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1- inch knob ginger roughly chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 Thai bird chili or Seranno pepper roughly chopped
- 2 pounds ripe Roma tomatoes approx. 8 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar optional
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or coconut cream
- Cilantro garnish
Instructions
Instant Pot:
- Press saute, add the oil and once it heats up, add the onion and stir occasionally for 8-10 minutes or until the onions have browned and look caramelized.
- Add ginger, garlic and green chili and stir for a minute, then add the tomatoes and spices.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve, and cook for 2 minutes at high pressure.
- Quick-release pressure.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
- Stir in the cream and taste and add sugar if needed (if the tomatoes are not sweet/ripe, the sugar will help counter any tartness). You can also add more water to the soup if you prefer a thinner consistency.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Stovetop:
- Add the oil to a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, then add the onion and stir occasionally for 7-8 minutes or until the onions have browned and look caramelized.
- Add ginger, garlic and green chili and stir for a minute, then add the tomatoes and spices. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool down. Use a blender or an immersion blender to puree the soup.
- Stir in the cream and taste and add sugar if needed (if the tomatoes are not sweet/ripe, the sugar will help counter any tartness). You can also add more water to the soup if you prefer a thinner consistency. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Notes
- Don’t have roasted cumin prepared? Dry roast ½ teaspoon of regular cumin seeds in a pan over medium heat until dark brown and fragrant, then grind.
- My grandma’s original version of this curry did not call for cream, however, my family prefers the addition of it. You can leave out the cream if you’d like.
Erika says
I used fresh summer tomatoes from the farmer’s market to make this and WOW! it was good. I added an extra cup of water to make it more ‘soupy’ and used an immersion blender. This will definitely be a summer soup I make often.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
That’s awesome – I’m so glad you enjoyed this 🙂
Judy says
I wouldn’t eat this as a soup really, it seemed too thick for a traditional soup. I felt like it was a tomato chutney, taste was delicious though! I used ghee instead of avocado oil and seranno, and blended everything at the end in a ninja. It has a great kick to it..much needed on a cold day while I was stuffy with allergies!
My Heart Beets says
Thank you! But this tastes nothing like my tomato chutney – I’ll have to share a recipe so you can compare 🙂 Maybe think of this soup as a stew? You can also add more liquid to adjust the consistency to taste. Glad it helped with your allergies!
Andy says
A bit late to the party, but I just found your blog! I’m curious why you choose to dry roast the cumin first? If you’re using oil, I thought it was more traditional to bloom the cumin seed in hot oil before adding the other ingredients. I can see dry roasting, though, if someone is trying to go oil-free. Just curious!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Andy, better late than never! Glad to have ya! Dry roasting cumin gives the spice a very different flavor than blooming the seeds in hot oil – trust me! It’s not about going oil-free… roasted cumin (aka bhuna jeera) adds a fragrant smoky flavor to the dish. It’s a recipe that’s usually found in Indian “street foods” and also often sprinkled on top of Indian yogurt (raita). Maybe I’ll write a longer blog post about it some day 🙂
Deanna says
I made this on Wednesday and served it last night (Friday) for a friend’s birthday and despite having a lot of food the three of us finished all but about 1/4 cup of the soup. I added a bit more ginger, which really came through. I thought that I would have to strain the soup, but it came out really smooth after running it through my Vitamix. I like a bit more heat so I think next time I will increase the Serrano pepper to two. I did reheat it and also added some coconut cream a few minutes before serving and added fresh cilantro on top and it was perfect. The great thing is that it came together really fast. The longest part is getting the onions to turn golden brown, everything else is fast and easy. Your dishes never cease to amaze me. In fact the menu last night was mostly your dishes – this soup, Navratan Korma, Masala Cauliflower, and your chai spiced chocolates were all on the menu. Thank you for your great site, your wonderful posts and your AMAZING recipes. You have made me feel more confident in the kitchen and I am no able to pull off Indian dinner parties that are better than going out to eat!
My Heart Beets says
Wonderful!! I’m so glad you and your friends liked this soup and all the other recipes 🙂 Totally makes my day knowing you all enjoyed so many MHB recipes!!
Naomi says
So I made this yesterday for a group of women and they were falling over themselves for seconds. I doubled the recipe for 6 adults but halved the spice (so only used one serrano) and it still had lots of kick. I served coconut cream on the side for people to garnish and it was amazing with just a little cream. Now everyone is clamoring for your website because they love all the things I’ve made from your site…haha.
My Heart Beets says
Naomi, that’s awesome! your comment totally made my day 🙂 Thanks for sharing my website with your friends!
April says
I just made this for lunch. So so good! I used ghee because I’m out of avacado oil and I used one can if stewed tomatoes, one can of tomato paste and three Roma tomatoes. I “cooked” it in my vitamix! Thank you!
Lois says
Would coconut oil or ghee work in place of the avocado oil?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Lois, yes either of those will work – personally, I’d choose ghee over coconut oil 🙂