Week 13 - 17 November - Page 2

Originally posted by: IWasHareeshFan

I think I am in the minority here but I don't know why I don't like Rukhsar much, its not about her cooking or presentation or anything but I don't like her, there is something which I am unable to describe but I don't know why this feeling.

However, I think since this is a cooking show therefore I should not say this, so sorry if I have hurt anyone.

btw a small Q

Was chef Ranveer bit different to Seema ji? He was behaving as if she has captured his property or stolen something, I mean I felt this, how she cooked is another thing, but his behavior looked bit weird to me, so I wanted to ask that am I the only one who is assuming all this?

I felt so too, Ranveer kind of wanted Sima out. Not just Ranvir but all the judges

About yesterdays episode -

I think it was brave of Suraj to choose karela and brave of Ashiq to choose fermented soy beans. Karela is not easy to work with, and fermented soy beans has a very strong overpowering smell and flavour.

The pairings made me believe this was predecided, like many have noticed like minded contestants ended up together. My husband told me when the episode started, Nayan had to win. They wouldn’t allow their winner to not win today.

Talking about the process and the dishes -

1. Nidhi and Aruna - just seeing Aruna was enough to put me off. I dislike both these contestants (because of the blatant favouritism). Their dish didn’t sound super exciting to me. Panjiri was praised last week, so they incorporated panjiri in their dish. I really wish they’d have gone a different route and maybe made a crisp with some masala - would’ve gone better with the tamarind ice cream.

Rukhsaar - Shanta - they were both calm and collected, knew what they were doing, and their dish had a little bit of them both. I think they were the one pair, whose dish was a proper amalgamation of both their styles. Had it not been for the overcooked chicken, who knows, they would’ve won.

Ashiq - Nayanjyoti - I love both these guys, so was thrilled with the pairing. My only gripe is that to me the dish was more Nayanjyoti than Ashiq. The dish looked beautiful and I’m glad they showed restraint and didn’t go overboard.

Suraj - KDK- didn’t like this pairing much, the dish was all KDK. And she was literally treating Suraj like the sous chef. When Ranveer came up to her and said mumma, gosh, all last years irritation came back. It was a good idea to make a quiche, but the quiche looked too dry, I wish they had a dipping sauce or drizzle atleast.

Harry - Suvarna - pathetic pairing. Whoever was paired with Suvarna was doomed. I don’t think tacos is a simple dish - last year when Sachin made tacos, the judges didn’t think it was simple. The taco shells looked cracked and not right. Also, a taco has to have crunchy elements but also a smooth sauce (like gaucamole or sour cream). It’s pretty incomplete otherwise. Suvarna kept complaining that Harry is slow and she’d have to do 80% of the work. Even in the real challenge the contestants complained about Harry’s speed. But he never struggles for time in individual challenges. Maybe he’s a better solo worker than team worker.

Gurkirat - Kriti - Again the dish was very Gurkirat - adding too many elements. I liked their thought and the dish was beautiful. It lacked the finesse that I would’ve liked but it was a playful plate. The only problem is because of too many elements they couldn’t do justice.

I didn’t enjoy the episode. I’d rather have had Nayanjyoti come and cook, and the contestants cook along with him, or replicate his dish. Many of the old contestants seemed like the executive chefs and were overpowering. Almost all the dish were the ideas of last years contestants. To me it was a waste of an episode. Just happy to see Ashiq saved

Originally posted by: Raina101

About yesterdays episode -

I think it was brave of Suraj to choose karela and brave of Ashiq to choose fermented soy beans. Karela is not easy to work with, and fermented soy beans has a very strong overpowering smell and flavour.

The pairings made me believe this was predecided, like many have noticed like minded contestants ended up together. My husband told me when the episode started, Nayan had to win. They wouldn’t allow their winner to not win today.

Talking about the process and the dishes -

1. Nidhi and Aruna - just seeing Aruna was enough to put me off. I dislike both these contestants (because of the blatant favouritism). Their dish didn’t sound super exciting to me. Panjiri was praised last week, so they incorporated panjiri in their dish. I really wish they’d have gone a different route and maybe made a crisp with some masala - would’ve gone better with the tamarind ice cream.

Rukhsaar - Shanta - they were both calm and collected, knew what they were doing, and their dish had a little bit of them both. I think they were the one pair, whose dish was a proper amalgamation of both their styles. Had it not been for the overcooked chicken, who knows, they would’ve won.

Ashiq - Nayanjyoti - I love both these guys, so was thrilled with the pairing. My only gripe is that to me the dish was more Nayanjyoti than Ashiq. The dish looked beautiful and I’m glad they showed restraint and didn’t go overboard.

Suraj - KDK- didn’t like this pairing much, the dish was all KDK. And she was literally treating Suraj like the sous chef. When Ranveer came up to her and said mumma, gosh, all last years irritation came back. It was a good idea to make a quiche, but the quiche looked too dry, I wish they had a dipping sauce or drizzle atleast.

Harry - Suvarna - pathetic pairing. Whoever was paired with Suvarna was doomed. I don’t think tacos is a simple dish - last year when Sachin made tacos, the judges didn’t think it was simple. The taco shells looked cracked and not right. Also, a taco has to have crunchy elements but also a smooth sauce (like gaucamole or sour cream). It’s pretty incomplete otherwise. Suvarna kept complaining that Harry is slow and she’d have to do 80% of the work. Even in the real challenge the contestants complained about Harry’s speed. But he never struggles for time in individual challenges. Maybe he’s a better solo worker than team worker.

Gurkirat - Kriti - Again the dish was very Gurkirat - adding too many elements. I liked their thought and the dish was beautiful. It lacked the finesse that I would’ve liked but it was a playful plate. The only problem is because of too many elements they couldn’t do justice.

I didn’t enjoy the episode. I’d rather have had Nayanjyoti come and cook, and the contestants cook along with him, or replicate his dish. Many of the old contestants seemed like the executive chefs and were overpowering. Almost all the dish were the ideas of last years contestants. To me it was a waste of an episode. Just happy to see Ashiq saved

@bold 1 - yea i felt it too. This was not random. In previous such episodes it was all usually picked by numbers. This was already pre-determined & of course Nayan had to win. They cannot show anyone else win because he was the last season’s winner.

@bold 2 - haha. So true. Nothing looked like the contestants own ideas. They executed last season’s contestants ideas. Perhaps the judges wanted to taste food made by last season’s contestants again 😝

I was so happy to see KDK and Suvarna back. Loved both of them. Oh, Shanta Ji too!

Pooja Makhija was the guest today. I follow her on Instagram and am quite a fan, so naturally I was happy to see her. I just wish she’s spoken more about proportions - 30% carbs, 40% proteins, that would’ve made the challenge tougher.

Otherwise todays challenge was cooking a regular dish - most of us and even these chefs use come carb, protein and vegetables and fruits (vitamins and minerals). The only twist was to add the two ingredients after half time.

Most contestant were in a fix when they had to incorporate flaxseeds and moringa leaves. Almost everyone made a crispy element, adding flaxseed to it was a no brainer. Most people did that but still complained. Moringa leaves could’ve been trickier - but add some moringa in your crisp- both elements in one, or use moringa in some chutney and to combat the bitterness use dairy, lemon, tomatoes. I know it’s easy for me to think of ideas since I’m not a contestant under pressure.

Let’s talk about the dishes -

1. Nidhi - the dish looked bad. I wouldn’t have wanted to take a morsel from it. Making a healthy dish doesn’t mean using ingredients you haven’t used before. I saw some flour and lentils (masoor) in the carbs section, maybe that would’ve been a safer bet.

2. Rukhsar - I have high expectations from her. She’s always made such different and delicious dishes. Her dish today was not bad, but it didn’t wow me.

3. Kenny - I knew if he didn’t get saved, he’d be eliminated tomorrow. I really wanted him safe. He’s got some lovely ideas, but lack of experience and nerves often lets him down. Horsegram is a dense pulse and you really need to flavour it well to be able to taste other ingredients, so moringas bitterness wouldn’t be felt much. Smart thinking. Glad his rasam and rice turned out delicious. I didn’t like his plating much, like the judges said, it was too brown for me.

4. Harry - like Kenny, I was scared for Harry. In my head, Harry and Kenny are the next two to leave. I’m happy he is safe. Harry always seems to know what he’s doing, I guess it’s the experience that often counts. I would’ve never thought of combining two starches like quinoa and sweet potato. Mixing moringa with feta was brilliant, the cheese would mask the bitterness. And it looked good. I loved the idea of a edamame guacamole in which he used the flaxseed. I think Harry doesn’t do too many elements, but concentrated on a few. His dishes may not be Uber complicated but they’re usually interesting.

5. Kriti - I wish she hadn’t made a dessert. The first thing that comes to mind is dessert is unhealthy. While that may not be true, it’s hard to incorporate all food groups adequately. I know this is her comfort zone, but sometimes one needs to step out of his comfort zone to achieve greatness.

6. Suraj - his herb and seed crusted fish reminded me of Santa’s maan dhaniya crusted wish. Fried fish is always good, and this added more crunch and allowed use of flaxseed. His plate looked lovely, like always.

7. Shubhojit - I love ramen and all types of soba. But making soba isn’t easy. Working with buckwheat is tricky (I’ve tried it). Also, while Japanese broths don’t have strong flavours, they have an additional flavour - umami. Since we can’t quite get the umami flavour, it’s best to add more flavour using other ingredients. Just because you’re making soba and broth, doesn’t mean it’s got to replicate Japanese flavours. Have a feeling he’s going tomorrow.

8. Nambi - she’s a smart woman. Using onions while poaching was brilliant. I wouldn’t have thought of it, until the judges said that you can burn your ingredient while poaching. The road sauce on her plate looked so good. It was a very inviting plate. The Parmesan crisp was a let down, only because I expected something more creative from her.

So, 4 boys are safe, while all three girls left in the competition are in the black apron challenge. None of them will leave for two reasons - to maintain ratio balance between men and women and secondly because Nidhi is their favourite, Rukhsar cooks very well and she’ll do great, Kriti is also fairly liked by the judges. I don’t think they’ve liked Shubhojit much.

Originally posted by: Raina101

Pooja Makhija was the guest today. I follow her on Instagram and am quite a fan, so naturally I was happy to see her. I just wish she’s spoken more about proportions - 30% carbs, 40% proteins, that would’ve made the challenge tougher.

Otherwise todays challenge was cooking a regular dish - most of us and even these chefs use come carb, protein and vegetables and fruits (vitamins and minerals). The only twist was to add the two ingredients after half time.

Most contestant were in a fix when they had to incorporate flaxseeds and moringa leaves. Almost everyone made a crispy element, adding flaxseed to it was a no brainer. Most people did that but still complained. Moringa leaves could’ve been trickier - but add some moringa in your crisp- both elements in one, or use moringa in some chutney and to combat the bitterness use dairy, lemon, tomatoes. I know it’s easy for me to think of ideas since I’m not a contestant under pressure.

Let’s talk about the dishes -

1. Nidhi - the dish looked bad. I wouldn’t have wanted to take a morsel from it. Making a healthy dish doesn’t mean using ingredients you haven’t used before. I saw some flour and lentils (masoor) in the carbs section, maybe that would’ve been a safer bet.

2. Rukhsar - I have high expectations from her. She’s always made such different and delicious dishes. Her dish today was not bad, but it didn’t wow me.

3. Kenny - I knew if he didn’t get saved, he’d be eliminated tomorrow. I really wanted him safe. He’s got some lovely ideas, but lack of experience and nerves often lets him down. Horsegram is a dense pulse and you really need to flavour it well to be able to taste other ingredients, so moringas bitterness wouldn’t be felt much. Smart thinking. Glad his rasam and rice turned out delicious. I didn’t like his plating much, like the judges said, it was too brown for me.

4. Harry - like Kenny, I was scared for Harry. In my head, Harry and Kenny are the next two to leave. I’m happy he is safe. Harry always seems to know what he’s doing, I guess it’s the experience that often counts. I would’ve never thought of combining two starches like quinoa and sweet potato. Mixing moringa with feta was brilliant, the cheese would mask the bitterness. And it looked good. I loved the idea of a edamame guacamole in which he used the flaxseed. I think Harry doesn’t do too many elements, but concentrated on a few. His dishes may not be Uber complicated but they’re usually interesting.

5. Kriti - I wish she hadn’t made a dessert. The first thing that comes to mind is dessert is unhealthy. While that may not be true, it’s hard to incorporate all food groups adequately. I know this is her comfort zone, but sometimes one needs to step out of his comfort zone to achieve greatness.

6. Suraj - his herb and seed crusted fish reminded me of Santa’s maan dhaniya crusted wish. Fried fish is always good, and this added more crunch and allowed use of flaxseed. His plate looked lovely, like always.

7. Shubhojit - I love ramen and all types of soba. But making soba isn’t easy. Working with buckwheat is tricky (I’ve tried it). Also, while Japanese broths don’t have strong flavours, they have an additional flavour - umami. Since we can’t quite get the umami flavour, it’s best to add more flavour using other ingredients. Just because you’re making soba and broth, doesn’t mean it’s got to replicate Japanese flavours. Have a feeling he’s going tomorrow.

8. Nambi - she’s a smart woman. Using onions while poaching was brilliant. I wouldn’t have thought of it, until the judges said that you can burn your ingredient while poaching. The road sauce on her plate looked so good. It was a very inviting plate. The Parmesan crisp was a let down, only because I expected something more creative from her.

So, 4 boys are safe, while all three girls left in the competition are in the black apron challenge. None of them will leave for two reasons - to maintain ratio balance between men and women and secondly because Nidhi is their favourite, Rukhsar cooks very well and she’ll do great, Kriti is also fairly liked by the judges. I don’t think they’ve liked Shubhojit much.

You pretty much covered what I wanted to say about the dishes.

I agree on Kenny's dish. It looked too brown and boring to me, so I'm glad his taste saved him.

I'm happy Harry is saved. For me, him being eliminated before Kriti wouldn't be fair. At least he does different things. Kriti just cooks the same desserts again and again. Any challenge and she immediately goes to baking and desserts.

For me it's between Kriti and Shubhojit. Only Pooja loves Kriti, Ranveer and Vikas don't like her much. And Shubhojit doesn't really have any support in the judges. Though a part of me is praying that Nidhi goes. Rukhsar cooks well and I don't think she'll go. Nidhi is Ranveer's pet so she won't go, though like I said I hope she goes.

Originally posted by: Raina101

I felt so too, Ranveer kind of wanted Sima out. Not just Ranvir but all the judges

but at least both the judges did not show it much as much it was shown by chef Ranveer, he toh was like if someone would have even asked him in sleep that who he wants out toh while sleeping also he would have said Seema Seema Seemaaaaaaaa.

Originally posted by: Minionite

You pretty much covered what I wanted to say about the dishes.

I agree on Kenny's dish. It looked too brown and boring to me, so I'm glad his taste saved him.

I'm happy Harry is saved. For me, him being eliminated before Kriti wouldn't be fair. At least he does different things. Kriti just cooks the same desserts again and again. Any challenge and she immediately goes to baking and desserts.

For me it's between Kriti and Shubhojit. Only Pooja loves Kriti, Ranveer and Vikas don't like her much. And Shubhojit doesn't really have any support in the judges. Though a part of me is praying that Nidhi goes. Rukhsar cooks well and I don't think she'll go. Nidhi is Ranveer's pet so she won't go, though like I said I hope she goes.

If Nidhi leaves, I’ll treat myself to an extra glass of wine this weekend!

Originally posted by: Raina101

If Nidhi leaves, I’ll treat myself to an extra glass of wine this weekend!

Lol my weekend is going to be a roller coaster - I'm watching Tiger 3 tomorrow, then Keh Doon Tumhein is ending, but between those 2 things I'll also throw a party for her elimination if it happens.

Shubhojit eliminated