Indian Railway Tomato Soup
Now, if you're Indian and you've travelled on the railway, especially Shatabdi Express, you know the tomato soup they serve. That spicy, earthy, tomatoey, tangy soup with the little croutons. Man, that soup is good.
And honestly, I had completely forgotten about it for years. Then one year while visiting family in India, my aunt made this tomato soup and suddenly I was like, wait. How did I forget Indian railway tomato soup existed? Why have I spent all these years making tomato soup Italian style?
So naturally I had to make it.
The tomato matters here. Don't buy sad watery tomatoes and then wonder why your soup tastes flat. Spend some money on the tomatoes. Get good Roma tomatoes, good vine tomatoes, good cherry tomatoes, San Marzano, those lovely big Indian red tomatoes from Tekka market, whatever works. If you care about food, honestly, you already know which tomatoes actually taste like tomatoes.
Anyway, I made this in my rice cooker because once again I was feeling lazy and did not want the fuss and bus of proper cooking. So I chopped up the tomatoes, threw in a little bit of beetroot because I happened to have some leftover roasted beet, onion, garlic, ginger, ghee because you absolutely need ghee in this situation, and then water plus a vegetable stock cube.
And then comes the important part. Garam masala and Kashmiri chilli powder. That's the flavour. That's the railway soup energy. And honestly, if it's not mirchi enough, just throw in a chilli. Fresh red chilli, dried chilli, chilli padi, whatever you have.
Once everything is soft and cooked, you blend it until smooth and drinkable and then add the cream. Or better yet, malai. If you have homemade yogurt and you know that thick cream layer that forms on top? Use that. That is elite soup behaviour. And then of course, the croutons. Do not forget the croutons.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Roma tomatoes
- 1 beet, peeled and cut into small pieces
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly sliced
- 1 inch ginger, chopped
- 1 tbsp ghee or oil
- 4–6 cups water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup cream
- Optional: fresh red chilli, dried chilli, or chilli padi for extra heat
- For the croutons: bread cubed, olive oil
Method
- Heat the ghee or oil in a large pot, pressure cooker, or rice cooker. Add the onion and sauté until softened.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute until fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes, beetroot, water, and vegetable stock cube.
- Add the garam masala, Kashmiri chilli powder, extra chilli if using, salt, and black pepper.
- Let everything simmer until the tomatoes are completely soft and the beetroot is tender.
- Blend until smooth and drinkable. Return to the heat and simmer gently for another 10 to 15 minutes so the flavours settle.
- Stir in the cream or malai. Taste and adjust everything.
- For croutons: toss bread cubes with olive oil, spread on a tray, roast at 180°C for 10–15 minutes until golden and crisp. Serve the soup hot with croutons on top.
Good tomatoes matter here. This soup should be smooth and drinkable, not chunky.
Kashmiri chilli powder gives colour and warmth without making the soup aggressively spicy.
Ghee really adds depth here, so use it if you can.
No basil. This is not Italian tomato soup.
I made this almost entirely in my rice cooker because that thing is perfect for soups. And if you don't have a rice cooker, just roast everything first at 200°C for about 35 to 45 minutes until the tomatoes collapse and everything softens nicely, then blend it all together.
If you happen to have leftover roasted beetroot from another recipe, throw it in. And if you have malai from homemade yogurt, use that instead of cream. So good.
This soup works because it balances acidity, warmth, sweetness, and creaminess really well. The tomatoes bring brightness and tang, while the beetroot adds sweetness, body, and deeper colour without making the soup taste like beetroot soup.
Garam masala and Kashmiri chilli powder give warmth and spice without turning the soup into generic Italian tomato soup territory. The ghee adds richness and depth, while the cream or malai softens the spice and gives the soup that comforting railway-style texture.
Usually in a giant mug or bowl with way too many croutons. And honestly sometimes just standing in the kitchen because once the soup is blended and hot and spicy and creamy, it's very difficult to wait properly.
Honestly, not much. Maybe try it with those really good Indian market tomatoes next time when they're properly in season. Or maybe add even more croutons because somehow there are never enough croutons.
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