Guava salad recipe – Easy to make Guava salad recipe with easily available ingredients – Guava salad recipe with a short YouTube video
Guava | கொய்யாப் பழம் in Tamil, is a tropical fruit rich in fiber, Vitamin C, and antioxidants. Salads are a favorite at home. As we enjoy guava fruit as it is, I thought of trying out a salad made with the fruit. I used semi-ripe ( more on the raw side) guava for making this guava salad.
I have used feta cheese in this salad; it is completely optional. However, I highly recommend adding feta cheese as it elevates the taste to a different level. After I posted the video on Instagram, many of my readers tried it and sent me pictures. It was a super hit at everyone’s home.
If you are a person who doesn’t like eating fruits as it is, do try this interesting version of guava salad.
Add salt, chaat masala, 1 finely chopped green chili, red chili powder and lemon juice.
Mix everything well
Add thinly sliced carrot, guava, boiled chickpeas and mix well.
Add 2 tbsp feta cheese (optional)
Mix well
Guava salad is ready
Video
Notes
1. You can add thinly sliced cucumber to the salad2. During non-guava season, you can use thinly sliced apple or pineapple also3. Feta cheese gives a nice taste to the guava salad
Drumstick soup recipe, Murungakkai soup recipe – How to make Drumstick soup – Healthy soup recipe with short video.
We South Indians typically add drumstick to sambar, vatha kuzhambu, or poricha kootu. Last time during my trip to India, I saw a few of my friends and relatives. Although they liked the flavour of murungakkai (drumstick), they didn’t like to eat the cooked drumstick because they dislike the fibrous part.
Even at my home, my daughter, who loves the flavour of the murungakkai, doesn’t eat the vegetable in any gravy. So I decided to make a soup, and it is a super hit in the family. So if you have anyone who hates to eat the drumstick, do try this way
Drumstick | murungakkai are loaded with nutrients, and they are a great source of fibre as well. We are not adding any cornstarch to this soup, but we are adding moong dal to this soup, which gives thickness to the soup.
Now add one bayleaf, green chili, garlic cloves, ½ portion of tomato, few coriander stems and 1 tbsp moong dal to this.
Saute for a minute and add chopped drumstick. I used 1.5 drumstick.
Add 1 cup of water, little salt, turmeric powder and fennel seeds
Cover and close the cooker.
Pressure cook for 3 whistles
Open the cooker once the pressure subsides, cool everything
Grind everything
Add 1 cup water while grinding
Strain this well
Add water while straining
Discard the fibre
Add salt, pepper powder and mix well.
Let this boil and switch off
Drumstick soup is ready
Video
Notes
1. You can add ½ onion while cooking the drumstick2. You can skip the tomato and add lemon juice towards the end3. Masoor dal can be replaced with yellow moong dal.4. You can also add a tbsp of millet to enhance the thickness of the soup
Add butter to a pressure cooker/pan.
Now add one bay leaf, green chili, garlic cloves, ½ portion of tomato, few coriander stems and 1 tbsp moong dal to this.
Saute for a minute and add chopped drumstick. I used 1.5 drumsticks.
Add 1 cup of water, little salt, turmeric powder and fennel seeds.
Cover and close the cooker.
Pressure cook for 3 whistles
Open the cooker once the pressure subsides, cool everything.
Grind everything
Add 1 cup water while grinding
Strain this well.
Add water while straining
Discard the fibre.
Add salt, pepper powder and mix well.
Let this boil and switch off.
Drumstick soup is ready.
Notes:
You can add ½ onion while cooking the drumsticks
You can skip the tomato and add lemon juice towards the end
Masoor dal can be replaced with yellow moong dal.
You can also add a tbsp of millet to enhance the thickness of the soup.
Dates paan recipe – Must try paan recipe for this festival season. No cook dates paan recipe using betal leaves | Vethalai, gulkand, and other easily available ingredients.
Usually, I make one paan dish for all my guests when I host any big gatherings at home. This year, when we had Maha Periyava Paduka Pooja at home, I made this Dates paan for my guests. It was a huge hit among all. Our friend who runs a restaurant here got so impressed, asked me to make dates paan for a big event hosted at their restaurant. Yet another huge hit.
I also made this for Varalakshmi Pooja and everyone loved it. As Navaratri is approaching, I thought of sharing this recipe with you all. So that you can make this for the guests. All you need is good-quality dates, tutti frutti, gulkand, and store-bought Mukhwas. You can make this in advance and store it in the refrigerator.
No cook paan leaves stuffed dates paan, perfect for the festival season
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Festival recipes, Navratri recipes, paan leaves,
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 0 minutesminutes
Total Time 20 minutesminutes
Servings 18pieces
Author Jeyashri suresh
Ingredients
3paan leaves | vethalai| betel leaves
18Pitted dates
2tbspgulkand | rose petal jam
2tbsptutti fruiti
2tbspmukhwas | mouth freshner
Instructions
I used this mixed mukhwas for this
In a bowl add the mukhwas, you can add sweetened fennel seeds, jeera mittai, supari
I used 4 varieties
Add 2 tbsp tutti fruiti
Add 2 tbsp Gulkand | Rose petal jam
Wash the paan leaves well and pat dry them. Take out the stem part and finely chop it. I used 3 medium sized paan leaves, do not add more
Mix well
Filling is ready
Take one pitted dates
Stuff little filling into it
Close it
Repeat for the rest
Dates paan is ready
Video
Notes
1. You can add finely chopped or pulsed nuts and seeds to this dates paan filling. 2. This can be stored in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.3. I have once added slightly crushed M & M and skipped the mukhawas. Kids enjoyed this version.4. Use firm dates for making this dates paan recipe.
I used this mixed mukhwas for this.
In a bowl, add the mukhwas
I used 4 varieties
Add 2 tbsp tutti frutti
Add 2 tbsp Gulkand | Rose petal jam
Add 3 finely chopped paan leaves.
Mix well
Filling is ready.
Take one pitted date
Stuff a little filling into it
Close it
Repeat for the rest
Dates paan is ready.
Notes:
You can add finely chopped or pulsed nuts and seeds to this dates paan filling
This can be stored in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
I have once added slightly crushed M&M and skipped the mukhawas. Kids enjoyed this version.
Mahalaya Amavasai lunch menu – The Mahalaya Paksham | Pithru paksham ends with Mahalaya Amavasai. No onion garlic lunch menu combo for Mahalaya amavasai. It is the last day of the 15 days of Pithru paksham, which usually ends on the New moon day.
As a tradition, Tharpanam is performed on all days for deceased ancestors, and it is believed that even if we skip doing Tharpanam on other days, we can make it up on Mahalaya Amavasai day. It is also believed that the souls will bless the family abundantly. On Mahalaya Amavasai day, we cook an elaborate lunch using native vegetables. Raw banana is a must on the menu.
In our house, for amavasai my mother-in-law always makes poosanikai puli kootu. Some houses make Sambar for amavasai, and in some houses, they make Mor kuzhambu. Usually, we make vadai payasam for Mahalaya amavasai. In some houses, they make Srartha samayal for Mahalaya amavasai.
Some houses do not use toor dal but use only moong dal. I am sharing a basic menu that is usually made at our home for Mahalaya amavasai. Feel free to modify as needed.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 14 – Pithru paksham recipe without onion and garlic
We are almost on the second last of Mahalayam and tomorrow is Mahalaya Ammavasai. Today’s menu comes with an interesting North Indian Pulao and a potato sabzi. My amma learnt this potato sabzi from my athai many many years ago. We used to call this Aloo dum those days. Those days amma made kurma whenever she made chapati, on festival days and Mahalayam days, South Indian dal was made, or coconut chutney was made, which we used to hate during those days.
When Athai introduced this sabzi Amma used to make this on days we don’t eat onion and garlic. We love this with puris and jeera rice. Basmati rice was a rare thing in those days, and whenever Amma makes jeera rice or veg biryani, we love to have it with this potato sabzi.
The vegetable biryani and kurma recipe, I can say I attempted on my own in June 2009, back when my mama’s family visited me in Singapore. My Mami and perimma won’t eat garlic and I made this veg biryani and veg kurma for them. They both were super impressed by the taste. Later, when I started Jeyashri’s kitchen in August 2009, I shared this recipe, and ever since, it has been a super hit.
I have posted Mahalayam lunch and dinner menu combo for the past few days. Today’s menu features an interesting combination of Poosnikkai Kalyana Kootu and Yam Tawa Fry. Also, the dinner menu has an interesting No onion no garlic Paneer butter masala.
I have included lemon rasam in the menu. I have two versions of lemon rasam on the website, one I learned from my amma and another one I learnt from my perimma. Both recipes are my favorites.
Coming to Poosanikai kalyana kootu, it is very similar to the arachuvitta sambar; we use the same spices for roasting, but we don’t add tamarind water in this. This kootu tastes very similar to the kootu served at Tamil Brahmin weddings. Traditionally Poosanikai | white pumpkin is used for this kootu. You can use raw banana, vazhai thandu, vazhaipoo, or any other veggies you prefer for kootu.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 12 – No onion no garlic Pithru paksha recipes.
Today’s menu has our family’s favorite combo Vatha kuzhambu and kootu. Some people avoid having keerai during Mahalayam, but as I mentioned before in all my posts, I use all vegetables except onion and garlic during Mahalayam period. Kootu and vatha kuzhambu is a staple combo loved by all at home. The pan-fried brinjal is yet another one of my personal favorites and this recipe is a super hit. We use the big Bharta baingan for making this recipe.
The dinner menu has aloo paratha and spicy pomegranate raita. Aloo paratha is always a super hit at home. Usually, no one at home is particular about hot food. Even rotis I make in the evening and they have it for dinner. But any stuffed parathas, they love to have them hot. It doesn’t mean they don’t eat if I keep it 1-2 hours ahead, but they love to eat it hot. So I plan it on days when I don’t have any classes and other outside work. We have 2 version of Aloo paratha recipe on Jeyashris kitchen. The other one is with onion – Dhaba style aloo paratha.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 11- Pithru paksham no onion no garlic lunch menu combo.
We have been seeing Mahalaya Paksha lunch and dinner menu combo. Today, we are seeing another recipe combo using karunai kizhangu. I used to dislike this vegetable during my childhood. When amma visited us in Singapore, she made this Karunai kizhangu masiyal, and somehow I started liking that. I used to make the maisyal once in a while from then on. However, after moving to Hong Kong, I couldn’t find Pidi karanai, so I stopped making it altogether.
We have an interesting Maharastrian cucumber salad on the menu. If you haven’t tried it, do give this a try, and I am sure you will love it.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 10 – Pithru paksham lunch dinner combo – No onion no garlic recipe combo.
It is easy to cook a traditional South Indian menu without onion and garlic. Many of you ask me for the North Indian menu without onion and garlic. Today, I am sharing a no-onion, no-garlic vegetable biryani. I have posted this recipe on my website many years ago. You can make the no onion garlic chana masala to pair with the biryani or as an accompaniment for the paratha in the dinner menu.
Also, I follow only no onion no garlic during mahalayam, I include rest all vegetables in my cooking.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 9 – No onion no garlic lunch and dinner menu combo for Pithru paksham
We are here with an interesting no onion no garlic recipe combo. This menu is our family’s favorite too. Most of the weekend we end up in making a kootu and thogayal. Also Rasam we make only during weekend. I am giving recipe for avarakkai kootu today, but you can replace the vegetable with any of your favorite vegetables.
The tiffin combo is also protein-rich peas, rava idli and a simple coconut chutney. You can plan this as a tiffin for Navaratri guests too. I have done this once, and it is a super hit among guests.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 8 – No onion no garlic Pithru paksha lunch and dinner recipe combo.
Today, we are on day 8 of the combo sharing, and I am sure many of you must be following the Mahalaya Paksham lunch dinner menu combo series. Today I am sharing a traditional combo of Pavakkai Pitlai and karamani | payathangai curry. The dinner comes with the classic combo of Kothamalli pongal and Kalyana gotsu
Kothamalli pongal recipe, I have not shared on Jeyashris kitchen, but the short video is available on Jeyashri’s kitchen Youtube channel, Instagram, and Facebook page. I have made that for Varalakshmi nombu for a large number of guests. So you can plan this no onion no garlic protein-rich malli pongal for Navaratri too.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 7- No onion no garlic pithru paksham lunch and dinner menu ideas.
As we see different menu options for this Mahalayam today, this menu is yet another of my favorite combos. As I mentioned in all my combo posts, I use all vegetables during Pithru paksham except onion and garlic. Today’s menu includes a bonda morkuzhambu | Kalyana morkuzhambu recipe, which I learned from my perimma many years ago. Personally, I love the combo of mor kuzhambu and enna kathrikkai curry
Since the menu didn’t have dal, I have included Toor dal dosai in the evening dinner menu paired with a delicious coconut coriander chutney.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 6 – Pithru paksham lunch and dinner menu combo – No onion no garlic recipes
Traditionally, we make South Indian recipes during mahalaya paksham and only native vegetables like, avarakkai, raw banana, snake gourd, bitter gourd.. are used. English veggies like carrot, cauliflower, sweet corn, and radish are avoided. But I generally do not follow much, I do not use onion and garlic in my cooking for these 15 days of Mahalayam. As my husband does Tharpanam daily for all 15 days of Mahalayam, I take a shower in the morning and then will cook the food.
Today’s lunch and dinner menu comes with a no onion no garlic paneer rice and aloo sabzi. The sabzi you can make in the morning a little extra, and use it for dinner too.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 5 – No onion no garlic lunch and dinner menu combo for Mahalaya Paksham
The Day 5 lunch and dinner menu features a veggies-loaded Varuthu Aracha Kuzhambu, a recipe very close to my heart. This Tirunelveli-style gravy, which I learned from my athai, is something we all love a lot. You can also replace this kuzhambu with Tirunelveli Thalagam or Ezhukari kootu. Usually, they use native vegetables like vazhakkai, seppankizhangu, bittergourd, kathrikkai, avarakkai during mahalayam, but I don’t strictly follow any rules except onion and garlic.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 4 – Every year during the time of Mahalaya Paksham | Pithru paksham I plan to post lunch and dinner menu combo on Jeyashris kitchen. Finally this year I planned the combo menu. I will post the no-onion, no-garlic lunch and dinner menu here, along with the recipe links. I have already shared 3 combos on Jeyashris kitchen.
As I mentioned in all the previous Mahalaya Paksha menu combo posts, I use all the vegetables except onion and garlic during Mahalaya. Feel free to substitute the vegetables as you prefer.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 3 – Mahalayam | Pithrupaksham lunch dinner menu – No onion no garlic recipes.
I have been posting no onion, no garlic lunch menu and dinner menu combos on Jeyashris kitchen for the past two days. Thank you so much for the great response.
Mahalaya Paksha is a significant 15-day period in the Hindu calendar devoted to honoring and remembering ancestors through rituals. The recipes are made without onion and garlic, and also, only some specific vegetables and spices are used. I am not following the exact tradition, but I am giving you an idea of what I follow at home.
Please check out the lunch dinner menu combo 1 and Lunch dinner menu combo 2 here.
Mahalaya Paksha Lunch Dinner combo -2 – I have started posting no onion no garlic menu combos for the Mahalayam starting from Sept 8- Sept 21, 2025.
We have a huge collection of No onion no garlic recipes in Jeyashris kitchen. For this series, I am combining some recipes and giving them as a combo, so that it may give an idea for those who plan to cook no onion, no garlic recipes.
As I have mentioned before, I do not follow any vegetable restrictions except for onion and garlic. You can feel free to choose the vegetables as per your choice. Traditionally, many use only moong dal and avoid toor dal in the menu. Also, freshly ground spices are used, and pepper is used instead of red chilis.
Mahalaya Paksham lunch Dinner combo- 1 – Every year during the time of Mahalaya Paksham | Pithru paksham I plan to post lunch and dinner menu combo on Jeyashris kitchen. Finally this year I planned the combo menu. I will be posting the no onion no garlic lunch and dinner menu here with the recipe links.
Mahalaya Paksha, also known as Pitru Paksha, is a sacred 16-day period dedicated to paying homage to ancestors. It holds a great spiritual significance. Traditionally, the meals prepared during this Mahalaya Paksha period follow certain customs. They use freshly ground spices; no onion or garlic is used. Additionally, no English vegetables like carrots, radishes, or cauliflower are used in the cooking. Instead, native vegetables like avarakkai, bitter gourd, cluster beans, and raw banana are used.
Many households don’t use certain vegetables during these 15 days, but I don’t follow any vegetable restrictions except for onion and garlic. I am just providing an idea for the menu; feel free to modify it according to your needs and preferences.
Kavuni arisi Sakkarai Pongal – Karuppu kavuni arisi sakkarai pongal – Traditional South Indian sakkarai pongal made using black rice with step by step pictures and short video
Karuppu kavuni arisi is known for its health benefits. It has a unique purplish hue and is very rich in nutrition. We usually make sakkarai pongal using raw rice or sometimes with millet, samba wheat, or aval. I have posted Kavuni Arisi Curd Rice recipe on my Instagram page and YouTube channel.
Kavuni arisi is usually soaked overnight before cooking, as it has a hard texture. But in this recipe we are pulsing the rice into kurunai and cooking it immediately. The rice gets cooked in this way, without soaking. This recipe is similar to the popular Chettinad Kavuni arisi sweet.
I have posted a recipe for kavuni arisi payasam, and I even made it for a big group of guests a few months back. It was a huge hit among the guests. It is long overdue to post karuppu kavuni arisi dosai and appam on jeyashris kitchen. Do try this Karuppu kavuni arisi sakkarai pongal for neivedyam and let me know how it turned out.
Add 2 tbsp yellow moong dal and add add 2 cups of water
Pressure cook for 6-7 whistles in medium flame.
Once done mash this well
In a pan add ¾ cup jaggery and add ½ cup water
Let the jaggery dissolve, filter the impurities.
Add the cooked and mashed black rice to the pan
Mix well
Add ¼ tsp cardamom powder and add 1-2 tbsp ghee
Mix well.
Let this boil for a minute
Add a tiny pinch of edible camphor
Add ghee roasted cashew nuts
Mix well
Switch off the flame
Kavuni arisi sakkarai Pongal is ready
Video
Notes
• No need to soak the rice, since we are pulsing the rice, it gets cooked fast.• The jaggery quantity was perfect, you can add 1-2 tbsp extra if you want it sweeter.• Karuppu kavuni arisi sakkarai Pongal can be offered as neivedyam for any festival
In a bowl, add ½ cup black rice
Add water and wash well 3-4 times.
Drain the water and pulse this 3-4 times
Transfer it to a bowl.
Add 2 tbsp yellow moong dal and add 2 cups of water.
Sweet potato payasam, also known as Sakkaravalli kizhangu paysam, is a sweet kheer made with sweet potato, moong dal, and jaggery as its main ingredients. I was planning to post my mom’s version of sweet potato curry with jaggery. Though i am not a big fan of this, but mom makes it very nice, and my sister, my mom, and my grandma will feast on this during the festival time. It will taste more like a halwa. I will post this sometime. I just casually tried, as a few sweet potatoes have been lying in my kitchen for a week. Since many of us will have this veggie left over after Pongal festival, I thought we could use it for making payasam for kannu pongal. Check out my
Peel the skin of the sweet potato, wash it, and chop it into big chunks.
In a pressure cooker add 1 tsp of ghee and add the moong dal and roast it for 2 minutes in a low flame. Now add the sweet potato and saute it for a minute.
Add 2 cups of water to this and pressure cook this for 3-4 whistles.
In a pan add the jaggery and add 1/2 cup of water and boil it till the jaggery melts. Filter the impurities and allow this to boil for 3-4 minutes.
Meanwhile, mash the cooked sweet potato and moong dal mixture.
Add 1 cup water as it will be thick. Add the jaggery water to this.
Fry the cashew nuts in ghee and add this to the payasam. Add cardamom powder. Mix well.
Once it is completely cool add milk. Ensure the milk is not hot. Let it be cool.
I didn't add milk to the payasam. Adding milk gives a nice creamy texture to the payasam.
Notes
1. I added 1/2 cup of jaggery but I found the payasam is less sweet so I have increased the quantity in the ingredients list.2. The payasam tends to thicken more so add milk if you are consuming it later.3. Ensure the milk is cool, and the kheer is also cool. This is to avoid the payasam getting curdled.4. You can add 1/2 cup of first coconut milk instead of milk to this sweet potato payasam.
Method:
Peel the skin of the sweet potato, wash it, and chop it into big chunks.
In a pressure cooker add 1 tsp of ghee and add the moong dal and roast it for 2 minutes in a low flame. Now add the sweet potato and saute it for a minute.
Add 2 cups of water to this and pressure cook this for 3-4 whistles.
In a pan add the jaggery and add 1/2 cup of water and boil it till the jaggery melts. Filter the impurities and allow this to boil for 3-4 minutes.
Meanwhile, mash the cooked sweet potato and moong dal mixture.
Add 1 cup water as it will be thick. Add the jaggery water to this.
Fry the cashew nuts in ghee and add this to the payasam. Add cardamom powder. Mix well.
Once it is completely cool add milk. Ensure the milk is not hot. Let it be cool.
I didn’t add milk to the payasam. Adding milk gives a nice creamy texture to the payasam.
Notes:
I added 1/2 cup of jaggery, but I found the payasam to be less sweet, so I have increased the quantity in the ingredients list.
The payasam tends to thicken more so add milk if you are consuming it later.
Ensure the milk is cool, and the kheer is also cool. This is to avoid the payasam getting curdled.
You can add 1/2 cup of first coconut milk instead of milk.
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