MOONG DAL HALWA RECIPE | HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

Moong dal Halwa is an awesome North Indian sweet . I have tasted this few times in my friends house but never attempted to make it on my own. I wanted to post a nice and exotic sweet recipe for New year 2015 and tried this before coming to India for vacation. I clicked the pictures and posting now from India. I wish all my readers a  very Happy New year 2015. Let this year bring lot of prosperity and abundance in all positive ways . Thank you for the continuous support and i will give my best to give more nice and detailed recipes in this year 2015 also.
 I adapted this recipe from Tarla Dalal cookbook.

PUPPY FACE COOKIES RECIPE | EGGLESS COOKIES

Puppy face is a normal plain eggless cookies bu the shape only look like a puppy. It is easy to decorate the cookies with easily available ingredients.Surprise your kids with this cute cookies. I made for the Christmas party at kids school. All the kids were super excited and happily had this cookies. I got this idea through a reader who sent me this cute pictures for her daughter and asked me to give it a try. On the moment i saw these i decided to make it on the next day. I took the plain cookies recipes from my Pinwheel cookies recipe and few you tube links showed me how to make the puppy face. Try this out for this Christmas and enjoy the cookies.

VAZHAITHANDU SOUP RECIPE |BANANA STEM SOUP

Vazhaithandu or Banana stem is a very healthy veggie and we make curry out of it and also morkootu with vazhaithandu. I wanted to try out soup for a long time and made it few months ago for the Kungumam thozi supplement book. It turned out very well and this veggie is quite healthy and very good for weight watchers too. Try this  clear soup and start your dinner or lunch in a healthy way.
 I am right now in India enjoying my vacation and so millet recipes will resume on all Mondays from the New year. I am totally enjoying here meeting all my old friends, watching movies, eating out, and spending time with family. Will write some interesting stories of my vacation after i am back to Singapore.

HOMEMADE CHAI MASALA | TEA MASALA RECIPE

Tea masala | Chai masala is an aromatic masala, added in Indian tea. I have seen in many Northindian friends house, they keep the chai masala and their tea will always be awesome. I have already posted how to make tea in this Indian Kitchen basics series. Suresh is not a big fan of masala chai but i love mild masala added to chai. I was looking for a perfect recipe for tea masala. I have tried few store bought brands too but all turned out bit spicy and too strong.
I saw the recipe in show me the curry and thought i will give it a try. Wow i got the perfect chai masala recipe. Try this out at home and i am sure you will love this masala tea.

VANILLA TEA CAKE RECIPE | EGGLESS BAKING RECIPES

Vanilla Tea cake is a new recipe introduced to me by my cousin. Few days back she sent to me the picture of this eggless tea cake through what's app. I asked her the recipe and she sent to me by mail. She told that she got the recipe from her friend. I just tried this cake last week and it taste super yum. It was super soft and mild in sweet and perfect for a Tea time snack. If interested check out my

• Banana Bread
• Carrot Cake

KUTHIRAIVALI TOMATO RICE | MILLET RECIPES

Kuthiraivali |barnyard millet |Odalu in kannada|Jhangora in hindi, is a healthy millet and i have experimented few interesting recipes with this millet and will be posting the millet recipes every monday. I have made a supplement book for Managayr Malar a popular Tamil magazine themed Millet recipes. This book will be published today DEC15-31 edition. I have tried this Kuthiraivali tomato rice and it was very nice and we couldn't feel any odd taste too. Perfect to pack for lunch box too. I used the similar recipe as of my thakkali sadam.

2 MINUTES MICROWAVE BROWNIE | EGGLESS BROWNIE RECIPES

Microwave brownie, the name itself makes many of you drool. This recipe doesn't need an oven too. You can make this simple microwave brownie in 2 minutes with easily available ingredients. If your kids ask for instant snack this brownie is the best one to make in a microwave . I am sure kids will love this and give you an extra hug for sure, as i got it too. I adapted this recipe from divya's space. Do try this out and i am sure you will love this eggless chocolate brownie.

UDIPI SAMBAR RECIPE | UDUPI HOTEL SAMBAR

Udippi sambar|udupi style sambar is a new sambar recipe without the use of homemade sambar powder.  I recently tasted this sambar in a friend's house who is a native of bangalore. The sambar was very different, aromatic and yum. when i asked her any special sambar powder you make for this , she said that this udipi sambar is without sambar powder . She told me the ingredients to roast and grind to make the fresh masala for sambar, just roughly without any measurements. I just tried it at home few days back and it was a super hit. A very aromatic sambar recipe which is a must try recipe from jeyashri's kitchen.

MUSHROOM SOUP RECIPE | CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

Mushroom Soup | Cream of Mushroom Soup, i have tried few times but somehow didn't get a perfect taste of the soup every time. Last month when i was working on Soups and salads assignment for Kungumam Thozi Magazine, i tried this again and got the taste perfect. The book got published on Dec.1 and those who in Tamil nadu can get it in shops. I will be posting some soups and salad recipes here from that book every week. Most of the Indian style soups are a super hit at my home and we often include Soups and Salads in my cooking. Last 2 months as Suresh is preparing for the Full marathon, i am so particular to include healthy food into his diet. So made a protein packed salad for him everyday along with a soup and a complete balanced diet. Last week he successfully completed his marathon and still now i am working on his diet. Post recovery is also more important.
   We are travelling to India for vacation and will be back on first week of next month. Till then i will be posting recipes but can't be so active in responding mails, and so committed to weekend posts too. Stay tuned for more interesting recipes. Follow jeyashri's kitchen on Facebook to get updates.

VARAGU IDLI | KODO MILLET IDLI | MILLET RECIPES

 Varagu | Kodo Millet is an easily available millet . It is called as Kodra in Hindi and Harka in kannada and Koovaragu in Malayalam. I have just replaced Varagu arisi with normal idli rice. Check out my Idli recipe  for detailed recipe and tips on making idli. The idli turned out super soft and no one could make out that it is millet idli. Varagu has lot of health benefits.It reduces blood sugar and also Cholesterol. Also it is a great source of protein for vegetarians. Serve this Idli with any side dish of your choice,. Check out the side dish for idli 

PAAN JUICE | BETEL LEAFJUICE RECIPE

Paan juice | Betel leaf juice (Vethalai in tamil )is an interesting one which i recently tasted in Punjabi Grill restaurant here in Singapore. When he served this on table after we finished our lunch. He told it as a mouth freshener and i was so curious and called the waiter again and asked him what all the ingredients included in this paan juice.He explained the recipe of the paan juice and was quite interesting. Immediately i cam home and tried it on the next day itself. I got the gulkand from my north indian friend. It turned out exactly the same. Yesterday i again made this paan juice to post here. Also i have tried Home made beeda too for a potluck party 2 weeks back, as most of my friends are a huge fan of beeda ( sweet paan). (UPDATE: Posted the paan|beeda recipe with video )It was a super hit in the party.Will post that recipe also soon here. This juice should be served in very small quantities as it is a mouth freshener.

MICROWAVE BREAD PIZZA | MICROWAVE RECIPES

Bread pizza is a easy and yummy one and a super hit among kids too. I have already posted Pizza recipe , but this is a Microwave version of Bread Pizza. A perfect snack for kids after they are back from school. Just 1 minute microwave bread pizza is ready . With just easily available ingredients at home pizza is ready in few minutes.

POTTUKADALAI VELLA URUNDAI | KARTHIGAI DEEPAM RECIPES

Pottukadalai Vella urundai is made for Karthigai Deepam in my mil's place. Many other Brahmin families don't have the tradition of making this pootukadalai urudai for Festivals as they don't consider it as auspicious. Being the native of North Arcot District in Tamilnadu, in my inlaws house for every function it is a must. Even for weddings, seemandams, ayushomam, Grahapravesahams, one among the Paruppu thengai they make should be Pottukadalai paruppu thengai. But being a native of Tanjore brahmins, initially my mom felt so odd to make this pottukadalai urundai and give it for festivals as Seer. Later she got used to it. Even for Karthigai Deepam too we make small Paruppu thengai, but since my mould which i keep here is bit big, i just made urundais. I just finished making pori urundai and pottukadalai urundai this morning for  evening neivedhyam. Wishing all my readers a very Happy Karthigai Deepam. Let the festival brings abundance of joy and wealth in your homes.

KARTHIGAI DEEPEM 2014 RECIPES | FESTIVAL RECIPES

Karthigai Deepam | Thiru karthigai , is a tamil festival. which falls on November 23rd 2018,this year. Being a native of Thiruvanamalai, a town in North arcot District of Tamilnadu, in my inlaws house Karthigai Deepam is celebrated in a very grand way. We observe fasting on that day and make pori urndai, appam, vadai, payasam ,adai in the evening and offer to God as neivedhyam. Then we will end our fast after Lighting the lamps. I am giving a collection of Karthigai Recipes from Jeyashris Kitchen.

Click on the images for the recipes.

ARISI THENGAI PAYASAM RECIPE | KARTHIGAI DEEPAM RECIPES

Arisi thengai payasam is a very common one in most of the Brahmin houses. We make this for most of the festivals . For Karthigai Deepam we make Pori urundai, Nei appam and along with this my mom makes this Arisi thengai payasam too. My mil's place we mostly make paruppu payasam. As Karthigai deepam 2014 is coming on Dec 5 i thought i will post this recipe of thengai payasam which is a long pending for me to post. Check out my other Karthigai Deepam recipes:

• Kadalai urundai
• Manoharam

KUTHIRAIVALI TIKKI RECIPE | MILLET RECIPES

Kuthiraivali | kudravali millet , called as Barnyard millet in English| Odalu in kannada|Jhangora in hindi, is a fibre rich millet. I have tried few recipes with this barnyard millet and they all turned out very well. To make it interesting for kids i made tikkis|vegetable cutlets with millets and it was very nice. If you do not get this millet at your place, try with samai, thinai or varagu too. Samba rava too comes out perfectly. A healthy and perfect snack for kids and also for diabetic patients too. Check out my other millet recipes

• Bajra roti
• Thinai salad
• Samai upma

MICROWAVE MASALA PEANUTS RECIPE | INDIAN MICROWAVE RECIPES

Masala peanuts is an quite addictive snack. I have posted a deep fried version of Masala peanuts but this is a low fat version of making in microwave. It is quite addictive and a perfect tea time snack too. Sometimes if you run out of veggies this can be had with sambar rice or curd rice too. Try out this microwave version of salted masala peanuts (a guilt free low fat snack) and enjoy your Tea time. I adapted this recipe from Nisha madulika's video.

PANEER FRIED RICE RECIPE | INDIAN STYLE FRIED RICE

Paneer fried rice in Indian style is a super hit recipe in my house and i often pack this for kids lunch box. So i never happened to click this paneer fried rice in morning hurry . Yesterday i made this in the afternoon as kids took pasta for lunch box.. I had paneer fried rice for lunch and kids had this after they are back from school. This is a simple and easy recipe and never fail to please your guests too.

HONEY SESAME CHILLI POTATOES | CHILI POTATO RECIPE

Honey sesame Chili potato is a delicious indo Chinese starter recipe. I have never tasted this but have heard about this a lot. A very popular Indo chinese starter, this Sesame chili potatoes never fail to please your family members and guests too. It was an instant hit with the kids . The recipe is very easy to make also and not very time consuming too. So go ahead to try out his Hone sesame chili potato recipe. If interested check out my

• Chili paneer
• Gobi manchurian

THINAI SALAD RECIPE | FOXTAIL MILLET SALAD | MILLET RECIPES

Millet recipes are getting popular now a days and i am posting recipes with various types of millets| sirudhaniyam here every Monday. I have explored many recipes using millets. Foxtail millet salad is one among them . Actually i wanted to post  a chaat recipe with millet but since i made salad today i am posting this healthy foxtail millet salad. Stay tuned for more interesting recipes with millets every week. Foxtail millet is  called as Thinai arisi in tamil | ( Kangni in Hindi, Kora in telugu | Navanne in Kannada |Thina in malayalam ). This salad will be very filling and ideally can consume this for breakfast or lunch. Perfect recipe for weight watchers. I just added the ingredients available with me, so feel free to add up more fruits or vegetables of your choice. Instead of thinai you can make this with quinoa or couscous too.
Check out my other thinai recipes

• Thinai payasam
• Thinai pesarattu

HOW TO COOK BASMATI RICE| BASMATI RICE IN PRESSURE COOKER

INDIAN COOKING BASICS

How to cook a perfect basmati rice for pulao and biryani is a repeated query i get from readers. I wanted to make on cooking of basmati rice for a long time and finally made it today. After coming to singapore, i started using basmati rice frequently. I started exploring so many brands and finally was comfortable using Lalquila and India Gate basmati rice. Even Kohinoor also i tried once and i am happy with the results. I am not here to promote any brands ,since it is the common question asked by readers, i thought i will mention it in the post.
Check out these recipes using basmati rice:

• Soya Chunks biryani
• Schezwan fried rice
• Jaipuri pulao

Scroll down to read the tips given below.

DRUMSTICK LEAVES PORIYAL RECIPE | MURUNGAI KEERAI PORIYAL

Murungai keerai |drumstick leaves is a very good for health but due to laziness to clean the leaves i buy this rarely. Also whenever i visit little india only especially if in the evenings only i get fresh leaves. Recently i made frequent trips to the Indian store i bought this murungai keerai. I love this in adai and also the curry|poriyal. During our child hood days we used to have the drumstick tree at home and whenever we want just pluck the leaves from it and make fresh curry. The fresh murungai ilai amma used to put in the home made ghee, wow i could recollect the smell still now.
   Childhood days stories are never ending. Let me continue to the post. How to make drumstick leaves poriyal | murungai keerai poriyal. This is best for lactating mothers.

KADALAI PARUPPU CHUTNEY | CHANNA DAL CHUTNEY | SIDE DISH FOR IDLI|DOSA

Kadala paruppu chutney is yet another yummy and tasty recipe which i learnt from the friend's mil, from whom i learnt the Kola urundai. This chutney is a perfect side dish for idli|dosa. The addition of mustard seeds in the recipes make it very unique and flavourful. The taste was close to the murugan idli kadai tomato chutney . Check out my Chutney recipes .

RAW BANANA KOFTA | KACHA KELA KOFTA CURRY RECIPE

Koftas are always popular among the gravies we make for chapathi. I have posted few kofta recipes here such as Malai kofta , Palak kofta and Cabbage kofta. Though koftas take place rare in my kitchen, we all love it very much. This raw banana kofta is one among the recipes which i gave for the magazine and i made this without onion and garlic. Today i tried it again with a gravy which includes onion and garlic. A best pair with both roti and jeera rice.

SAMAI UPMA RECIPE | MILLET RECIPES

South indian breakfast recipes

Saamai | Little Millet in English | Kutki in Hindi| Chama in malayalam| Sama in telugu, is a very healthy variety of millet. Samai arsi is is best for diabetic people and has high fibre content  too. Samai upma i recently tried for breakfast and it was a super hit too. I made in the same style of semiya upma . This samai upma is ideal for breakfast and also for dinner too.
Check out my other millet recipes:

• Thinai pesarattu
• Bajra roti             

JAIPURI VEGETABLE PULAO | VEG PULAV RECIPE

Vegetable pulao or veg pulao is an easy recipe and i have posted few varieties of pulao here. This jaipuri veg pulao i have tried once by seeing the Youtube Video of a Ruchi Bharani. I personally love her videos and the way she explains itself motivates me to make the dish. This Veg pulao is quite rich in taste and involves items like cream, cashew and butter but all in very small quantity only. Especially on weekends and the day you have guest, this veg pulao is a must one to try .
Check out my

• Baby corn pulao
• Tawa pulao 

CHETTINADU YAM KOLA URUNDAI | CHETTINAD RECIPES

Kola urundai is a popular dish of chettinad, a small town called Karaikudi in  tamilnadu. Chettinadu cusine | recipes will be very delicious and i have lot of friends who hail from chettinad, during my school days. This kola urundai generally they make with beetroot, yam, snake gourd and Vazhaipoo too. I asked my school friend regarding few chettinadu recipes, that i have tasted at her home. She gave few and asked me to talk to her mother in law as she is an expert in cooking. I noted down few recipes to ask her and called her up. She explained each and every recipe so clearly and with tips too. The energy, her chettinadu slang, her enthusiasm at this age is super contagious.I strongly felt these recipes should not be missed out and has to be treasured. I tried few recipes of her and will be posting here one by one. Check out my

• Chettinadu potato biryani
• Vazhaipoo vadai

BAJRA ROTI RECIPE| BAJRA KI ROTI | MILLET RECIPES

Bajra also called as Pearl millet in English/ Kambu in Tamil, even available in USA in the name cattail millet. Millet recipes are getting very popular now a days. I have explored few recipes with millets and will be sharing here every week. Bajra, is a very old variety of millet used in Tamilnadu and Kambu khool is a popular one which is made with bajra. Rotis are made with bajra in the state of Gujarat, Rajasthan. I remember eating bajra roti, jowar roti when we visited Jaipur few years ago. I have tried both jowar roti and bajra roti at home. Will post jowar also soon.
   This has so many health benefits.As bajra is rich in fibre, it helps in weight loss. Best suitable for Diabetic people. I personally felt the rotis are too bland in taste, but when i tried for the second time i had with proper side dish. It tasted very nice. Never serve this with simple raita or salads. Since it is a gluten free flour, i can't make it without the addition of wheat flour. So over to the recipe of bajra ki roti.

    You can serve with

• Masoor dal tadka
• Aloo Capsicum masala
• Peas masala