Week 30 October - 3 November

Let’s discuss this weeks episodes here.

I liked that they gave a different challenge that we haven’t seen on Masterchef yet. But I was disappointed with the some of contestants choice of dishes.

1. Koushalya and Nidhi - both made chaat - one made a papdi chat and the other a basket chat. Just listening to that, my first thought was how not creative. Even though Kaushalya instead of a khatti meethi chutney made a jam of apples and pomegranate (meetha and khatta), I saw no innovation. Yet judges praised her dish. I expected Nidhi to make something better but I guess we’ll see the same ghisa pita flavours from her also.

2. Sima - she made kebabs and popcorn of something and basically made her roti/poori crispy. It looks like a nice dish, but I guess her flavours weren’t on point or something.

3. Kriti - I liked what Kriti intended to make. A phyllo pastry filled with rabri and ghee glazed carrots to make a deconstructed gajar ka halwa. I’m surprised her phyllo was uncooked since it cooks pretty fast.

4. Nambi - I found her dish interesting, visually it was appealing. The black rice puffs reminded me of bhel (the white part). I just wish she wouldn’t be so stuck in serving north eastern cuisine only and would experiment more.

5. Shubojit - beautiful to look at. He used a simple street food like a samosa but elevated it. It looked tempting enough for me to want to try.

6. Kenneth - he’s one lucky guy and got saved. Nothing seemed to be going right for him while cooking and suddenly his dish wasn’t bad. I’d say it was a safe dish. A chocolate and hazelnut tart with kheer filling and chocolate cigars (which turned out to be chocolate crisps). Glad his flavours helped him.

7. Prachi - not warming up to her but she has some lovely ideas. Today she made a chicken Katsu curry. Crumb fried chicken is always a good idea.

8. Harry - he’s also someone with good ideas, don’t know why he doesn’t do great with implementation. He made a nasi goreng with rice flour satay. He did seem directionless until the judges came to his table and gave him some tips. Don’t think he’ll stay long.

9. Suraj - I forgot the name but the dish looked beautiful. He made a chocolate dome with some things stuffed. For someone who makes a lot of deserts I’d say he stuck to what he knows though making a dome is always tricky. After his Korean burgers, I really want him to innovate more. He can do a lot more.

10. Rukhsaar - I can’t say I was impressed with her dish. It was a falooda with some different flavours with some crunch from a chikki. Not a bad idea, but the judges went ga ga over it. She seems like a sure shot finalist at the moment.

11. Mohammed Aashiq - saved the best for the last. This guy has impressed me so much. In the auditions he was put on hold, from there to here, he’s shown tremendous growth and while I don’t think he’ll win (just a gut feeling), he should go far. He made something called something Paradise. His dish looked beautiful with a yellow passion fruit sauce, purple sabudana papad (coloured with blue pea) and prawn tempura (whose coating was praised). I always thought he would be restricted in his cooking style, but apparently not.


Sima and Nidhi have the black apron. Last year the person who made dish of the day didn’t participate in further challenges that week, doesn’t seem to be the case this year. They didn’t even announce dish of the day, though they mentioned Mohd. Ashiq dish and Ranveer even gave him his knife.

LOL, the introduction to making something crunchy on a microphone was bit annoying esp when Ranveer was blabbering the bhaari bhaari, lallan top angrezi words to convey today's challenge. Also, a lot of contestants still have open hair (esp Nambi, Prachi, & Nidhi).

Kennie- I would like that he goes to the savory route, to be frank.

Harry's looking lost. I don't see him lasting that long. Presentation was poor IMO of the nasi goreng.

Rukhsar is playing it safe with the falooda and praline merger. I wasn't happy tbh. Not her best dish.

Nambi is too limited to east flavors and/or conceptualization. Also, its just a damn rice salad in a jar which I wouldn't probably touch without probably someone's permission. 😂

Mohammed's flavors are surprisingly enticing so I do wish to see him go far. The prawns & sabudhana combo seems interesting. Blue-pea colored sabudhana papad is nice and so is the peach-passion fruit jam.

Koshalya- besan papdi chaat is too safe along with a jam (jam flavor is too childish & not at MCI level tbh).

Prachi- ehh too mouthful curry lol. 😂 🤣 Also, it wasn't a comfort bowl of katsu to me tbh.

Kriti- a deconstructed gajar halwa sounds interesting with rabdi in a phyllo cup & burnt caramelization topping though like Pooja said, the cups turn soggy. I wasn't happy with the outcome though. Confit carrots though rabdi concept was nice but raw phyllo cups +sweetened rabdi killed the dish.

Nidhi- chaat without yoghurt is too dry in mouth even before consumption lol. Also the grape chaat/jam was so bad.

Subojit- making a different take on a Bengali samosa. He's nice but needs to stick out of Bengali roots tbh. Also, I wasn't impressed with the presentation of the dish itself.

Suraj- interesting take on an ille folante. Have seen it caramelized but not with a chocolate. (Ranveer being a gyaani baba as usual 😂 ) I kinda liked the presentation. Also, it wasn't the best one like its a simple one.

Sima- not impressed and I think she could leave early. Not gonna stick too long. Plate choice was nice but overall it was an average execution of the chicken kebabs.

I'm suspecting there will be a "chef Ranveer" challenge next week since they got challenges from Pooja & Vikas so far. Also, I hate the way they allowed their contestants to chose the knives -- let the best contestant from last challenge decide the numbers. Secondly, it's unfair to include Sima & Nidhi, IMO, and rather add the next batch of weak contestants.

Nambi- Puh saw on a splattered plate was actually not that bad. It is a decent looking one & colors are vibrant. But again, limited to NE cooking, so would like if she explores beyond her roots.

Mohammed- not his best dish. Kulukki Drinks were too simple with just a chilli on top for decor. Seems like it tasted good, according to the judges.

Sima- plating was okay but could've been better.

Koshlya- plum kalakand was too simple. More like an appetizer.

Nidhi- papad ravioli isn't innovative. More like an appetizer.

Subojit- plating is decent, constituting of dumplings, jaggery soup, and plastic chutney.

I'm interested in tomorrow’s episode since it involves Marco Pierre White.

The challenge with Marco Pierre White was so good. I'm not going to comment on the dishes (or at least the ideas) as much, but the challenge itself was so good. Only 250 ml water, 30 minutes of electricity, 30 minutes of gas, and then 15 minutes with both. Brilliant challenge.

I'm glad Nambi decided to give up her safety to participate in this unique opportunity. Even if you go to elimination, you will be facing at least 3 or 4 other contestants.

What these contestants don't realize is that Chef Marco wanted Indian flavours. And yet some of them decided to still bring an international dish here. Arre baba he praised Indian flavours and spices and cuisines right at the beginning. How dumb do you have to be to not understand that???

The chefs and some of the contestants were talking to Chef Marco in Hindi. I wonder if he can understand Hindi or if there was an earpiece where things were being translated for him.

I'm sorry but I don't feel sorry for Prachi. Maybe I'm just heartless or maybe I didn't buy her emotional drama. I love how the other contestants helped her out. Aashiq, Nambi, Suraj, and Rukshar won my heart today the way they gave up their ingredients to help her out. But honestly her crying and emotional drama didn't melt me. It seemed fake. Like she forced the tears to come out. Especially after the initial breakdown. Every chef that came to her, she would suddenly get emotional again. Arre baba how much will you milk it?

Is it just me or do they not show enough of Sima? I mean we don't typically see the chefs visiting her table. I bet they do, but they don't show it.

So I watched yesterdays and todays episodes together today.

Starting with yesterdays episode - I kind of feel sad when some peoples dishes aren’t tasted, but that was the challenge and contestants knew it.

I was surprised that making kalakand and papad ravioli was innovation, clearly Prachis dish was more innovative in thought. Coming to presentation, I think the right people were eliminated.

I’m a little surprised that Shubhojit in spite of receiving more praise for his dish wasn’t the best dish of the day. I’m a little fed up of the excess praise for Nambi. She may be good, maybe excellent, but I think the judges are OTT when it comes to her.
Another question on what basis do the judges decide that today the cook who makes the best dish will be saved?

Todays episode with Marco Pierre White. We’ve seen a similar challenges in one of the previous seasons, but I quite liked the challenge. I remember in one season (all veg season) they couldn’t use water (at all) to cook. And another season contestants couldn’t use electricity and gas at certain times.

I think the contestants didn’t understand the challenge today. The chef clearly wanted to taste Indian flavours (like Shreya already said). Also, they should have used the oven more - not just rely on the gas, which they could use for just half the time.

Some contestants are clearly confused and struggling. Kenny was grating coconuts to extract coconut milk and wasted 15 minutes doing that. He could’ve done other prep work and used the blender to extract milk. Just roughly chop the coconut.
I was surprised chefs like Suraj and Kriti weren’t making sweets. It doesn’t use much water (can easily use milk, oil and juices). They could’ve easily baked something in 30 minutes. And had a reduction (using gas), Jam or something on similar lines using the gas. Though Kriti used the oven to cook rice, so she’s made good use of it.

Nambi ground rice to ensure it uses less liquid. Would that end up in a texture like upma?
Indian cooking has a lot of dishes cooked with little to no oil - Rukhsar used almost no water but used yoghurt to cook. Prachis second dish was shallow fried (Rava coated fish). I think a lot of contestants used fruit juices - orange and watermelon to cook their dishes. While these fruits will add a nice sweet and sour taste to their dishes, they should be able to spice it well.

Prachi is a drama queen. I understand the tears when her dish was ruined due to the plate breaking, but I think she was over dramatic even after her co contestants helped her. Hats off to Ashiq, Suraj, Nambi and Rukhsaar. They were willing to give her a lot of things.

I’m very keen to see the results tomorrow.

I liked the start of the challenge with certain limitations for a specific time & 250 ml of water. Lol, as expected, contestants search for other liquid sources. Kennie's too focused on grating the coconut whereas Harry wanted to cook the rice when the gas option turns on. Too much international influence on the contestants like aforementioned by other members above my post.

Prachi's idea of onion juice as water substitute was already 🤢 🤮 . So was wary of what Maharastrian food she was ideating over. Also, sobbing alligator tears over a broken plate & all. Some of her fellow contestants were nice enough to lend a hand & motivate her.

I'm interested in seeing Rukhsar's dish where she used primarily yoghurt in her dish. I feel Mohammed A. can do better with the Mangalorean dish that is in his mind as I feel it was bit repetitive and disconnecting.

I understand that Prachi did go a little overboard with her emotions, but some of you are too harsh. Cooking at a competitive level is already stressful, but when things go south, it can hurt like hell. I am glad Prachi pulled through somehow, and seems like she will be safe this week from the promo.

Originally posted by: Ninjaaa

I understand that Prachi did go a little overboard with her emotions, but some of you are too harsh. Cooking at a competitive level is already stressful, but when things go south, it can hurt like hell. I am glad Prachi pulled through somehow, and seems like she will be safe this week from the promo.

Maybe we are. And I get it. We don't know the pressure she was feeling and how much work it took to get to this level, but for me after the initial shock, I feel like she purposefully kept crying. Her initial breakdown was real. She didn't think she wouldn't be able to serve the dish at all. But then to continue crying even as contestants are offering her their ingredients - Aashiq basically gave her a whole fish! And then to continue crying as a chef visited her station - that seemed too extreme. When Ranveer visited her station, it literally felt like she was forcing the tears to come out again.

Damn the biasness is so evident already. Nidhi is the Aruna of this season!!

Today was tasting of yesterdays dishes. When it came to tasting Nidhi’s dish they couldn’t stop praising the presentation (which for any other contestant would be criticized) and of course the taste. They gave her the white apron, though they said she’d get it only if hers was the best dish of the day. They hadn’t tasted all dishes to know if it was indeed the best dish. To me that wasn’t right.

Chef Marco told Shubhojit he shouldn’t ‘ske this dish again just by looking at it (it wasn’t great looking but wasn’t bad either). He said he’d taste just one element. What if all elements together tasted excellent? Anyway that one element surpassed the judges expectations. It seems to be that they’re hell bent on making him fail.

Chef Marco liked some dishes but the Indian judges didn’t. It was overall a very disappointing episode today.