New Delhi, July 22, 2021: With the finale of MasterChef Australia Season 13 just around the corner, the excitement to find out who bags the title is through the roof. But irrespective of the results, the season has been a big win for Indian cuisines. With contestants like Delhi-born Depinder Chhibber, Indian-origin pastor Justin Narayan and Kishwar Chowdhury—an Australian of Bangladeshi descent—it’s no surprise that food from our corner of the globe had a big role to play in this season. Here are 10 Indian dishes that took MasterChef Australia by storm this year
Kishwar Chowdhury
Bengali Barramundi curry
Macher jhol is a Bengali classic traditionally made with fried rohu fish steeped in a spicy gravy with tomatoes and potatoes. As part of the six-course team race challenge in episode 11, Chowdhury had to present a fish dish prepared in 15 minutes. She put a clever spin to the traditional Macher jhol and served up a barramundi and roasted tomato curry that was equal parts tangy and spicy. Along with it, she even served a smashed prawn and bean bhorta and some jeera rice.
Phuchka chotpoti
In an Invention Test in episode 26, contestants had to use one of five vegetables—broccoli, carrot, onion, potato and zucchini—as creatively as they could. Chowdhury chose potato to create a Bengali street food platter, complete with phuchkas, samosas and a potato and chickpea chotpoti. But that isn’t all that makes the dish special. Chowdhury used dried potato sheets as the filo pastry to wrap her samosas and deep-fried the outer shells of the vegetable to make her own phuchka shells. She served it all with a bowl of tamarind sauce for that classic sweet and sour street food flavour according to the reports published in cntraveller.in.
Goat Rezala with Porota
The Rezala is said to have originated when the Nawabs of Awadh were exiled in Bengal. Their cooks, who they brought along with them, made Bengal feel a little more like home by incorporating Awadhi-Mughlai flavours—ghee and curries rich with spices—in their food. Though it was the result of a particularly nerve-wracking cook in episode 30, the Rezala turned out to be a rich and complex dish that more than impressed the judges. “It is a powerful plate of food,” said judge Andy Allen after tasting it.
Vanilla and pepper kulfi
Vanilla and pepper kulfi
In episode 47, Kishwar took one of India’s favourite frozen desserts—the milky malai kulfi sold in conical shapes on an ice cream stick or as creamy discs wrapped in butter paper—to a whole new level. Her “Persian Vanilla and Roses” dessert was a kulfi flavoured with vanilla and pepper, topped with a pistachio sable that carried intricate vanilla icing resembling mehendi designs. There were also delicate white chocolate discs infused with pistachios and rose, along with a rose-flavoured granita—a Sicilian shaved ice dessert.
Smoked Rice Water
Chowdhury took the internet by storm after she served her version of the Bengali Panta Bhat to the judges in episode 60. The humble breakfast dish is typically made by soaking rice in water overnight, is garnished with salt and onions and sometimes served with fried ilish fish or mashed potatoes. Similar versions of the dish are commonly consumed in Assam, Odisha and Bihar. Chowdhury took inspiration from chefs like Heston Blumenthal and Scot Pickett to make the smoked rice water and served it with sardines and aloo bhorta. Chowdhury impressed the judges by bringing food that was close to her heart to the table rather than sticking to conventional notions of gourmet food. Judge Melissa Leong appreciated her cooking—“This is powerful food. To have the heart and soul of the dish be all about something as simple as rice and water and seasoning. You know, it is powerful with history and it is powerful with flavour.”
Depinder Chhibber
Ghevar with carrot sorbet
Depinder Chhibber has become something of a celebrity because of the Indian favourites she has been dishing out all season. But even before the contestants began competing for the title, the dish that got her into the Top 24 in the first place was ghevar. The indulgent dessert is a Rajasthani special that is usually made during the monsoon festival of Teej. The disc-shaped sweet is made with flour or khoya, soaked in sugar syrup and flavoured with saffron and cardamom. Chhibber served the dish with a scoop of carrot sorbet and bagged her place in the Top 24.
Tiffin box
Chole curry, kadhai paneer, gobi paratha, rice and pickle
In the challenge in episode 18, contestants had 90 minutes to create their own version of a Bento Box-a traditional Japanese packed meal. Chhibber drew inspiration from India’s ubiquitous lunch tiffin and fit a delicious vegetarian Indian meal into the neat box compartments. Chhibber’s tiffin box contained chole curry, kadhai paneer, gobi parathas, crunchy fried bhindi, flavoured rice and her grandmother’s vegetable pickle, which judge Jock Zonfrillo asked for a whole jar of! When Chibber explained that this was the food she has grown up with and would have at home, judge Melissa Leon was quick to ask “Can we come to your house?”.
Tandoori chicken
Tandoori chicken with naan and smoked buttermilk
In many ways, tandoori chicken has become a classic well beyond India’s borders. In a challenge set by restaurateur Scott Pickett in episode 19, the contestants had to create a dish cooked with fire. Chhibber made the classic charred and spicy tandoori chicken with pillowy naans and a coriander chutney. As a refresher, she even made a glass of smoked buttermilk which she made using piping hot charcoal. After tasting her food, Pickett even said he wanted to add charcoal buttermilk to the menu at Melbourne restaurant Matilda.
Prawn moilee
Prawn moilee and coriander rice with peanut salsa
Kerala’s meen moilee is said to have Syrian Christian roots, having originated in the Portuguese occupied coastal regions of the state. The stew can be made with fish or prawns, typically uses coconut milk, spices and curry leaves and is served with idiyappams or steamed rice. In episode 40, Chhibber served her prawn moilee with coriander rice and a crunchy peanut salsa. On Instagram, she called it one of her favourite dishes of all time.
Chicken 65 with fried noodles
Chicken 65
South India’s Chicken 65 is a dish fraught with bizarre origin theories. Some suggest it is named so because of the number of chillies that make the spicy dish, others say the chicken is cut in 65 pieces. However, the most plausible theory is that the dish was introduced at the Buhari Hotel in Chennai in 1965, leading to its numbered name. This theory-ridden dish found its way into this season in episode 44 when contestants had to get creative with instant noodles. Chhibber cooked the deep-fried, sweet-spicy favourite, coating the chicken with blitzed instant noodles instead of flour. “That is right up there with the best fried chicken that I could ever imagine eating,” judge Jock Zonfrillo said. Chicken 65 is now MasterChef Australia approved.
