Wash and pat dry the bell peppers. Cut them in half, remove the seeds/stem. Apply a teaspoon of olive oil and set them on an aluminum foil laid baking tray. Throw in garlic pods too.
Chop onions finely and set aside.
Roast the bell peppers and garlic at 180°C for 25-30 mins until the tops are charred slightly and the bell peppers are soft. Remove them and gently peel off the skin. Remove the garlic skin too. Chop bell pepper roughly.
In a pan, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add finely chopped onions and fry until translucent. Add tomato puree along with brown sugar, salt, cumin and coriander powders.
Fry on medium flame until the raw smell of the tomato puree is gone. Add chopped bell peppers along with roasted garlic. Mix well. Add ½ cup of water and cook on medium flame for 3-4 mins. Remove from heat.
As the mixture cools down slightly, grind it into a smooth puree. Add the ground mixture into the pan again with another ½ cup of water and bring it to boil on low heat. Remove from heat.
Serve hot with toasted bread, croutons with chopped coriander leaves.
Notes
If you don’t have an oven, just char grill the bell pepper on open flame. Hold it with tongs and keep it exposed to the open flame for 2 mins on each side. Add chopped garlic to the oil first and then follow the rest of the process as it is.
I added sugar as tomato puree and roasted bell pepper are both slightly tangy.
Optionally, garam masala or curry powder can be added too.
For a spicy version, add black pepper powder.
At the end, 2-3 tablespoon of cream will add to the richness of the soup.