Tomato Soup

Ingredients
• Tomatoes – 10 
• Garlic – 5 cloves 
• Carrot – 2 medium 
• Celery – 2 stick 
• Onion – 1
• Basil – Few leaves 
• Sugar – 1 tsp 
• Oil – ½ tsp
• Butter – 1tbsp
• Bay leaf – 1 
• Pepper corns – 4-6
• Salt – as per taste 
• Pepper corns crushed -  ½ tsp 
• Cream – 2 tsp 

Method 

1. Wash tomatoes and cut each  into 4 pieces. Peel & chop garlic. Now peel, wash and cut carrots into thin slices. Finely chop celery, slice onion, cut basil leaves into thin strips.
2. Pour some oil and butter onto a pan and heat. Add bay leaf, peppercorn, sliced onions and sauté until translucent 
3. Now add  chopped garlic and celery, stir fry. Add slices of carrot and tomatoes, fry for a minute and add 3 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Cover with a lid and then cool for ten to fifteen minutes. One can use pressure cooker also.
4. Strain the blended mixture through a strainer. Keep the liquid aside. Remove peppercorns and bay leaf from the residue and allow it to cool .
5. Now, blend in a mixer to get a smoother puree. Pass it through a sieve or strainer. Add the separately kept liquid to the pureed tomatoes and adjust the consistency. 
6. Put it back on heat . Add salt ,freshly crushed peppercorns to taste. Simmer it for a couple of minutes. Just before serving,  add  basil leaves , cream and bread croutons.