The whole episode yesterday was designed to ignite these silly arguments. Why else would one contestant give another an idiom of their choice. It could’ve been random selection.
Anyway coming to the dishes :
Shanta - she got Baingan (Aubergine) which was a good ingredient in my opinion. I think she did well. Her playing looked good too. My only gripe is she made a version of baba ganoush, when just last week in the Mediterranean challenge they made similar stuff. Plating was good.
Priyanka got Kharbooja (melon). I’m happy she didn’t make a dessert. I quite liked her idea of making moodles (melon noodles). Although when she said she was making a gazpacho, I knew other flavours will overpower the melon. Melon doesn’t have a strong flavour. I liked the tofu with pesto as well. Her playing wasn’t the best. I agree with the judges when they said a little something in the centre would make it look much better. Also, from visuals her gazpacho looked very thick.
Nayanjyoti - he got anar (pomegranate). Another great ingredient, can be used for sweet and savoury both. I’m glad he went the savoury way. I would’ve never thought of cooking chicken with a pomegranate glaze. He managed to extract a beautiful colour and that made his dish look spectacular. The juice was a nice add on. And he’s always good with presentation.
Naziya - she got chana (chickpeas), a very versatile ingredient. And honestly I was disappointed with her dish. In simple words she made some chickpea koftas with chickpea gravy. Where’s the innovation? I liked the chickpea wafer/papad for crunch, but we’ve seen similar stuff several times. Again comparing it to a hummus and kibbeh; that should’ve been done and dusted last week (even though Naziya wasn’t there). Presentation was good.
Aruna had adrak (ginger), a very impactful ingredient. For once I didn’t think her dish looked good. I didn’t know what a morkali was and googled it. Also, I didn’t understand why the carrots were there and played separately. Had it been another contestants, the judges would’ve asked - how do the carrots fit into this dish? I did expect a lot more from her.
Suvarna had mooli (radish). Honestly I wouldn’t be happy with radish. But I must agree it’s better than getting rai (mustard). I wasn’t sure how the prawns and cheese would taste with the radish, but looks like she did well. The gradient on the radish looked wonderful; even if it was an accident. The colours of the dish made her plating look lovely.
Kamaldeep got rai (mustard seeds). While mustard is an ingredient used commonly on Indian bones, we use it in very small portions, not as the hero of the dish. It’s got a pungent flavour and can be unpleasant if used excessively. I think she struggles to get a balance of flavours in her sauce. But we’ll get to know more today.
Sachin got doodh (milk), I’d be happy with this ingredient. He could’ve used it as paneer, yoghurt, milk, mawa. You can make sweet and savoury with milk. He tried to make kharwas - which is like a pudding made from colostrum (first milk after a cow has delivered; thicker than usual). He must have had to use agar agar or gelatin or maybe corn flour to set it, but didn’t whisk well I guess because it was grainy. Then his semifreddo which was his plan B didn’t set. He managed to burn his first batch of cookies. So nothing went his way. His playing was rather boring. There was absolutely no colour. He could’ve used some nuts or fruits for colour. We’ll see today how it tasted
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Hollywood
Seher Hone Ko Hai
