Ingredients

To Blanch The Tomatoes

• 12 medium size tomatoes
• water and ice, as needed

To Make the Tomato Sauce

• 1 bay leaf
• a handful of fresh basil
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 big onion
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• ½ tsp chili flakes
• 3-4tbsp tomato paste

Method

Step1: To Blanch The Tomatoes (1) Take one tomato and remove the top of the tomatoes. At the bottom of the tomato, make a cross with your knife. This helps the skin to come off easily. Do that for all the tomatoes. Set aside. (2) Take a clean bowl. Add water and ice and prepare an ice bath. Set aside. (3) In a clean pot, bring water to a boil. Carefully, add the tomatoes one by one. Boil them for a minute or till you see the skin of the tomatoes loosen. (4) Take the tomatoes of the heat and pick one with a big spoon. Carefully, dunk it into the ice bath. Do that for all the tomatoes. (5) After about a minute, remove the skin of the tomatoes with your fingers and add them to a clean pot. With a masher, roughly mash the tomatoes. Step2: To Make the Tomato Sauce (6) Put this pot with the tomatoes on the heat and cook it till you reach a sauce consistency. (7) Once it reaches that consistency, add the bay leaf and basil, and cook till the water has completely evaporated and the sauce is thick. This can take up to 20 to 30 minutes. Cook it on medium heat and keep on stirring in between. (8) In a separate pan, add the olive oil. Once the oil heats up, add the garlic and onions. Saute the onions till they turn golden brown. (9) Add this onion mixture to the tomato sauce. Then, add the salt, pepper,  red chili flakes and tomato paste. Cook for a few minutes and take it off the heat. Note: If you do not want your sauce to be chunky, once the sauce has cooled down, blend it to a smooth consistency in a blender. It can be refrigerated in an air tight container for a few days.

Method (Step-by-Step) 

This is the list of ingredients for the tomato sauce. Remove the top of the tomatoes. At the bottom of the tomatoes, make a cross with your knife. This helps the skin to come off easily. Do that for all the tomatoes. Take a clean bowl. Add water and ice and prepare an ice bath. In a clean pot, bring water to a boil. Carefully, add the tomatoes one by one. Boil them for a minute or till you see the skin of the tomatoes loosen. Take the tomatoes of the heat and pick one with a big spoon. Carefully, dunk it into the ice bath. Do that for all the tomatoes. After about a minute, with your fingers, remove the skin of the tomatoes. Add them to a clean pot. With a masher, roughly mash the tomatoes. Put this pot with the tomatoes on the heat and cook it till you reach a sauce consistency. Add the bay leaf. Then, add the basil and cook till the water has completely evaporated and the sauce is thick. This can take up to 20 to 30 minutes. Cook it on medium heat and keep on stirring in between. In a separate pan, add the olive oil. Next, add the garlic. Then, add the onions. Saute the onions till they turn golden brown. Add this to the tomato sauce. To the sauce, add the salt. Then, add the pepper. Then, add the red chili flakes. Next, add the tomato paste. Cook for a few minutes and take it off the heat. If you do not want your sauce to be chunky, once the sauce has cooled down, blend it to a smooth consistency in a blender. It can be refrigerated in an air tight container for a few days.