4 tablespoons unsalted butter, olive oil, or coconut oil
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chile flakes
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes (pref. fire-roasted)
1 14-ounce can coconut milk

to serve: cooked brown rice, lemon wedges, toasted almond slices, pan-fried paneer, fresh thyme or oregano, oregano drizzle, a poached egg

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and salt, and cook for 10 minutes or so until they’re completely tender and unstructured.
Stir in the curry powder, coriander, cumin, and chile flakes, and cook half a minute just until the spices are fragrant and toasty – stirring constantly at this point.  Stir in the tomatoes, the juices from the cans, and 6 cups / 1.5 L of water. Simmer for fifteen minutes or so, then puree with a hand blender until smooth. At this point you can decide if you’d like your soup even a bit thinner – if so, you can thin it with more water, or if you like a creamy version, with some coconut milk. Taste and adjust with more salt to taste.

This soup is great served simply with a dollop of cream from the top of a can of coconut milk (a little goes a long way) and a toasted wedge of good bread. That said, it goes best with the coconut cream, served over a scoop of brown rice with a squeeze of lemon, some toasted almonds, and a jolt of herbs.

Inspired/Adapted from the Curried Coconut Tomato Soup in Melissa Clark’s Cook This Now.