For me, it’s not about wanting the most expensive, trendy or what matches my kitchen decor. It’s foremost about what will last, what’s practical, what has multiple uses and of course what lets me cook/chop/stir faster (mostly because I’m always in a rush – every spare second counts!!) So you will find almost nothing “cool” on this list, not even anything cute and pretty! That might disappoint some of you looking for gift ideas....

Sweet potato is probably my most underused vegetable, and I have no idea why. It has superfood status, it’s packed with nutrition and it’s a potato. Carb Monster, right here. Potato Girl. Yet to meet a form of potato – sweet or regular – that I don’t love. That’s going to change in the coming months. I actually love sweet potato, it’s just never made my weekly shopping basket. Nowadays, I always have it and I’ve been making some great quick meals using sweet potato rather than regular ones....

It takes more than store bought sausage mince to make a truly delicious filling. The little but important thing I do that takes this from “yummy” to “OMG these are incredible!!” is to sauté garlic, onion, celery and BACON to mix into pork mince (not store bought sausage meat!). Sausage Rolls Sausage rolls are Australia’s answer to America’s Pigs in a Blanket – but (I’m going to say it!!) SO MUCH BETTER!...

Blondies (butterscotch bars) This is Smitten Kitchen’s Blondie recipe, verbatim. Which, if you are as much of a Smitten Kitchen fan as I am, is all you need to know to head into the kitchen, immediately 🙂 It is very rare for me to share a recipe without fiddling with it in some way. But when a recipe is as simple and good as this, and when I’ve tried to fiddle and failed, and tried a number of other blondie recipes which were more involved yet not as good, there’s just no need to muck around....

Tastes like Jambalaya, minus the cajun flavours, and much faster to make! One Pot Smoked Sausage and Rice Like the “dump and bake” Fried Rice I shared a few weeks ago, this rice casserole recipe was conceived as a quick and low-effort dish. What makes this recipe tick is the use of smoked sausages. An under-utilised yet economical ingredient sold at all supermarkets, smoked sausages like kransky and kielbasa (Polish sausages) pack a ton of flavour thanks to their smoky taste and the generous seasoning in the sausage itself....

Find the recipe on page 70 of Dinner. I’m not just doing this to torture you, I promise. This page exists to display the how-to video for this recipe which I exclusively created for my debut cookbook, Dinner. Every recipe in the cookbook has a tutorial video. To watch it, you simply scan the QR code with your phone or tablet and it will take you straight to the recipe video like the one shown above!...

You’ll love how the sauce slowly drips down the cheesecake with every bite, and how the filling is creamy and rich, but it’s a bit fluffy rather than heavy and dense. And because I love the biscuit base so much, I’ve made it go aalll the way up the sides…. Strawberry Cheesecake This has been my go-to cheesecake recipe for many years now. It’s the cheesecake that rendered a group of girls silent when we were on a weekend away....

In Tamilnadu, we make many varieties of chutney for Idli | dosa. A small twist or change in the ingredient completely gives a new taste to the regular chutney. We have a lot of chutney recipes in Jeyashris kitchen. Apart from chutneys, many people prefer sambar for Idli | dosa. In our house, I make chutney on most of the days, when I serve Idli | dosa for breakfast. But Whenever I serve it for dinner, I make sambar....

This recipe for Sweet Bread calls for just six ingredients, one of them being apple butter, so you know it’s going to be delicious! This is just one of many simple and tasty recipes from my friend Kelly’s new cookbook, Paleo Eats: 111 Comforting Gluten-Free, Grain-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes for the Foodie in You. I met Kelly very early on in my blogging journey and ever since, she has been nothing but kind to me....

Sweet corn sundal Corn cheese balls Corn methi pulao Sweet corn kernels 1 cup Garlic 3 pods Ginger a small piece Butter 1 tsp Salt as needed Pepper powder as needed Full cream milk 1/4 cup or Fresh cream 1 tblsp Take out the fiber of the corn and cook it for 3-4 whistles. You can add little salt to this if needed. Once it is cool, take out the corn kernels out of this....

We South Indians make varieties of kuzhambu recipes at home. I have posted many Kuzhambu varieties in Jeyashri’s kitchen. This Thengai kuzhambu I learnt from my friend Banu and tried this few weeks back. Everyone at home loved this, so I thought I will share this recipe with you all. This is similar to Varuthu aracha kuzhambu but with fewer ingredients. The flavor and taste of this kuzhambu was too aromatic....

My amma makes the best thengai sadam, the very simple recipe but it used to be very flavourful. This takes place mostly in the festival menu as we add one variety rice, kalanda sadam in the festival menu. Amma roasts the coconut with little ghee and that gives a wonderful flavour and taste to the coconut rice. Personally, this is my favorite among all the kalanda sadam. The addition of green chili and red chili gives an excellent flavour to the thengai sadam....

We make Idli | dosa for breakfast | dinner on most of the days. Even if we run out of idli, dosa, batter, we make Rava dosa or Instant karacha maavu dosa or Rava Idli. We love to enjoy breakfast with different varieties of chutney and sambar. I have posted many chutneys, sambar, gotsu recipes in Jeyashris kitchen. This pepper flavoured tomato chutney I tried recently and it was a super hit at home....

Thakkali sweet pachadi is mom’s signature dish and amma makes it quite often during our childhood days. It is a very easy recipe and with few ingredients. If you have attended any Tamil Brahmin weddings, next to payasam and thayir pachadi, this sweet pachadi will be served. Instead of this, we make fruit pachadi or sweet kosumalli too. I am not a big fan of this thakkali jam, as we call it, but later after marriage started liking it....

Tortilla 2 Baby Corn 1 Onion 1 Tomato 1 Pasta Sauce As needed Capsicum 1/2 Grated Cheese(pizza cheese) As needed Red chilli flakes As needed Olive Oil To grease Oregano As needed Method: Cut the baby corn and capsicum length wise. Cube the onions and thinly slice the tomato into roundels. In a greased baking tray place the tortilla and spread the pasta sauce on this. Spread grated cheese on this....

Ulli | shallots | chinna vengayam 25 Coconut 1/2 cup Dhaniya | coriander seeds 1 tblsp Red chili 3 Red chili powder 1-2 tsp Tamarind a small gooseberry size Salt as needed Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp Methi seeds| venthayam 1/4 tsp Coconut oil 1 tblsp Curry leaves few In a pan add little coconut oil and add the grated coconut, coriander seeds and red chili. Fry this in a medium low flame till the coconut becomes nice golden brown in colour....

Vazhaithandu ||banana stem 1 small size Onion 1 Bay leaf 1 Butter |ghee 1 tsp Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp Yellow moong dal 1 tblsp Salt as needed Black pepper to taste Cut the banana stem and onion into big cubes. In a pan add ghee or butter and add the bay leaf, Add in the cumin seeds and onions and saute till they turn pink. Add the cut vazhaithandu and saute for a minute....

Go all out with a Vietnamese menu and serve this alongside fresh Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls, Bun Cha Vietnamese meatballs and a fresh Asian Slaw on the side! An incredible Vietnamese chicken recipe There are no words to describe how good this Vietnamese chicken is. And how it looks like a million bucks when it’s finished but completely unimpressive while it’s cooking. You’ll probably be doubting me the whole time right up until the last 5 minutes when it transforms from milky bleakness into golden gloriousness!...

A lifetime of eating seafood! In today’s recipe, I’m sharing all the items we put on our seafood platter – a staple on Christmas Day! We love the ease (mostly no-cook, just assembling) and because it’s a treat reserved for special occasions. Australian seafood is incredible, but good quality seafood is not cheap! This is why we are pretty meticulous with research and taste-testing our seafood – we even write nerdy notes to ourselves as reminders, to refine our purchases for the next shop....

Update: In the years since I first shared this, I’ve added our Seafood Platter to the Christmas recipe collection! ☀️ A very Aussie summer Christmas ☀️ It’s hot. It’s humid. The sun is out in full force, the sky is a pristine, postcard perfect blue. Christmas jingles are playing in the background. Glasses are instantly frosted with condensation the moment chilled wine is poured in. And it’s mandatory to use stubby holders* for beers – not just for practical reasons, but because it’s oh-so-Aussie....