Masala Tomato Soup With Bombay Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Recipes

MASALA TOMATO SOUP WITH BOMBAY GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES

Steps:

• For the soup: In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering, add the onion, ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, heavy cream, garam masala, pepper and salt and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover and cook until the flavors have really deepened and the soup has thickened, 20 to 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, make the chhonk: Melt the ghee in a butter warmer or small pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and toast for a minute or less, until the cumin seeds turn fragrant and a deeper shade of brown. Remove from the heat and stir in the chile powder and asafetida. Drizzle the chhonk over the soup once it's done.
• While the soup is cooking, make the chutney and assemble and cook your sandwiches.
• For the sandwiches: Spread a thin layer of the chutney on four slices of the bread, then evenly distribute the cheese on top (adding more, if you'd like), followed by the onions. Close each sandwich with the remaining four slices of bread and slather the tops of the sandwiches with a generous amount of mayonnaise (this will let the sandwich brown in the skillet).
• Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Once it's hot, add a sandwich, mayonnaise-side down. Slather the side of the sandwich that's now on top with mayonnaise. Once the sandwich is golden brown on the bottom, flip and cook until the other side is golden brown and the cheese is fully melted. While the sandwich is cooking, use a spatula to press down on the sandwich and bind the cheese and bread together. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.
• Slice the sandwiches in half and serve with the soup.
• Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until homogeneous, adding more lime juice or water if needed to get the blades moving.

GOOD OLD-FASHIONED AMERICAN GRILLED CHEESE AND TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Place 5 slices* of cheese in between two slices of bread (two on each side and one in the middle). Spread about 1 tablespoon butter on each exterior side of the bread. Remember, crust-to-crust is a must. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Place the first side in the pan (cooking in batches if necessary) and "dome" with an inverted large metal bowl or pan lid to create the proper vortex of heat. Cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes, then flip and continue to cook until the cheese is gooey and bread is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes more.
• Cut, slowly separate and watch as the cascade of gooey good ol' American cheese catches the sunlight streaming through the kitchen window and throws a glow of warm orange light throughout your entire house. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches. Serve with the Tomato Soup.
• *I know this sounds excessive, but it ensures the most possible ooey-gooeyness. If you're watching the intake, you can scale back to 3 slices.
• Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter, onions, carrots, celery, chile flakes and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Sauté until translucent, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for an additional minute. Deglaze with the sherry while scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and stock. Simmer until everything is cooked through and very tender, about 1 hour.
• Discard the bay leaves and blend the soup until completely smooth and uniform in texture using an immersion blender. Add the heavy cream and adjust the seasoning. Serve!

TOMATO SOUP AND GRILLED CHEESE

Steps:

• For the tomato soup: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chile and cook until it crackles, about 30 seconds. Add the onions, ginger-garlic paste and cilantro and cook until the onions are slightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, masoor dal, sambar powder, salt and pepper, to taste. Cover with water until all the fresh tomatoes are covered and let it cook on a low heat until the lentils are soft, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Carefully ladle the soup into a high-powered blender and blend until smooth, taking care when blending hot liquids. Pour into a medium-large saucepan and add the coconut milk and butter. Heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until just bubbling.
• For the cheese filling: Combine the cheese, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, garam masala and salt to taste in a medium bowl and reserve.
• For the sandwiches: Lay out the bread slices and top half of the slices with the cheese filling. Top with the other slices of bread and spread half the softened butter on the top piece of each sandwich.
• Preheat a double-burner cast-iron griddle pan over medium heat. Add the sandwiches, butter-side down. Carefully spread the remaining butter on the top sides of the sandwiches and cook, turning once, until the bread is golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the sandwiches to paper towels. Cut each sandwich in half on the diagonal.
• Serve the tomato soup hot with the grilled cheese sandwiches on the side.

GRILLED CHEESE AND TOMATO SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spread Country Crock® Spread on one side of each bread slice.
• Place 2 slices, Spread side down, in skillet. Top each with tomato, then cheese, then remaining bread slice, Spread side up.
• Cook until lightly browned on one side. Flip over and cook until cheese is melted.