This is the classic Indian tomato soup recipe that tastes just like your favorite Indian restaurant. This tomato soup is made from scratch in under 30 minutes using instant pot.
Turn on the Instant pot with saute mode. Add butter and let it get melted.
Add bay leaf, onion, ginger and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until onions start to soften and get a slight color change.
Add chopped tomatoes, beetroot, salt, pepper, kashmiri chili powder and vegetable stock. Stir everything.
Cover the instant pot with a lid. Keep the valve to sealing and pressure cook (manual) for 4 minutes.
Let the pressure go down naturally. Once the pin drops, open the lid. (if in the rush then QPR-quick pressure release after 10 minutes).
Discard the bay leaf and make a smooth puree using an immersion blender.
Add ketchup and heavy cream. Stir everything until well combined.
If needed you can bring it to a boil before serving for piping hot Indian tomato soup.
Notes
Always use perfectly ripe, red tomatoes. Unripe tomatoes will make the soup sour and lack the natural sweetness from tomatoes.
Type of tomatoes: the best choice is roma or plum tomatoes. Or use your choice of other verity but make sure to choose the one which is sweet in flavor and not tart or sour.
Strain the blended soup or not? I have used a powerful immersion blender that makes a smooth puree so I have not strained. You can use a regular, high powder blender to blend the soup. If your blender is not making smooth puree then you can pass it through the strainer and discard the fibrous pulp.
Freezing this soup is not recommended because of the heavy cream in it. If planning to freeze the leftovers then do not add heavy cream. Add that after defrosting while reheating the soup.