Tomato And Carrot Soup

There are a zillion variations of the humble tomato soup, as per the cuisine you are picking it up from.  But it is part of almost all the popular cuisines of the world, be it Italian, Indian, French, Spanish, Chinese, Mexican....

I almost never make the tomato soup with just tomatoes.  In my constant endeavors to modify the recipes and include whatever I can to make the dish more sumptuous and healthy, I add carrots to the simple tomato soup.  Kids love it and mama is happy to sneak in nutritious carrots:)

Serves 4

Ingredients:
500 gm fairly large red tomatoes, washed
2 large carrots, scrubbed (avoid pealing them as the skin contains a lot of nutrients), and cut in 1 inch rounds
3-3 1/2 cups of water
2 tsp fresh/dried basil leaves chopped/crushed (dried works perfectly fine for this recipe)
2 tsp jaggery powder/light brown sugar
1 cup skim milk
salt and pepper to taste
some grated processed cheese to garnish(optional)

Method :
1.  Place tomatoes, carrots, and water in a large sauce pan with fitted lid(you may use pressure cooker).  Water should be enough to cover the vegetables nicely.  Cook on high heat and after one boil, close the lid and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Alternatively, give one whistle in pressure cooker and turn down the heat to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
2. Cool the mix and blend to a puree in the blender.  Pass through a thin nylon/aluminium mesh sieve to remove any 'debris' from the puree.
3.  Reheat the puree in a sauce pan adding 1 cup of water(thin the soup to your desired consistency), add fresh/dried basil, jaggery/brown sugar, and salt and pepper, and heat thoroughly.  Just before taking it off heat, add the milk and mix.  
4.  Ladle the soup in bowls and add a few slivers of grated cheese, if you desire.  Serve the soup with some crusty garlic bread of soup sticks.  Enjoy!