After a neck-to-neck fight with other contestants, Ludhiana-based homemaker Kamaldeep Kaur managed to secure the second immunity pin of the season on this week’s MasterChef India 2023, airing on SonyTV and SonyLIV from Monday to Friday at 9pm. The week also witnessed Nazia Hassan, who had taken a sabbatical in the past, leaving the show yet again. Here’s a recap of the challenges set up by judges Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar and Garima Arora for the home cooks.

Potato accordion test

In the first task of the week, the cooks were asked to cut a potato in the shape of an accordion, as demonstrated by Ranveer Brar. The cooks would be judged on the basis of the thickness of the cut and the overall length of the accordion. Sachin, who is known for his chopping skills, was the first contestant to ace the challenge, followed by Aruna and Deepa.

Blind relay challenge

Sachin, Aruna and Deepa, who won the potato accordion test, were made captains for the next task, which was a blind relay challenge. Sachin selected Nayanjyoti and Priyanka for his team, while Aruna chose Gurkirat and Kamaldeep. Deepa got Santa and Suvarna in her team.

The teams had 60 minutes to prepare a dish with bananas. The contestants could use any part of the banana — leaf, steam, flower and fruit (ripe or raw). But Aruna and Deepa’s teams struggled throughout the challenge as they were not familiar with the parts of the banana. But Sachin’s team decided to make a banana-based dessert and qualified for the next challenge for the immunity pin.

Charcuterie board challenge

In the next task, Sachin, Nayanjyoti and Priyanka are given 15 minutes to prepare a charcuterie board. It is an appetiser (comprising fruits, protein slices, cheese, crackers and dips) that prepares the palette for an upcoming meal. Sachin’s board was visually appealing, while Priyanka’s had too many elements. However, Nayanjyoti’s board was the least appealing and he was adjudged out of the race for the immunity pin.

Egg ravioli challenge

To fulfil the next task, Sachin and Priyanka must prepare the perfect egg ravioli. They kept dishing out raviolis one after the other, only to be rejected by judges for uneven thickness. Ultimately, Sachin lost the challenge as he presented an uncooked ravioli and Priyanka advanced to the final task that separated her from the immunity pin.

Head-to-head battle against a professional chef

In her final challenge to win the immunity pin, Priyanka must win a cook-off against Manav Khanna, senior sous-chef at Chef Garima’s restaurant Gaa in Bangkok. While Manav maintained his calm and poise in the kitchen during the cook-off, Priyanka was running from pillar to post to impress the judges. Though both the dishes — Priyanka’s cranberry parfait with praline and coffee-and-pecan crumble and Manav’s modern take on kalakand — Priyanka lost to Manav by a point and her dream of earning the immunity pin was unfulfilled.

A second chance

The next task comprising two rounds gave the home cooks a second chance at winning the immunity pin. In the first round, the contestants had to correctly guess the names of spices hidden in jars by smelling them. Gurkirat, Sachin and Santa were eliminated for the least number of correct answers. Nayanjyoti, Aruna, Priyanka, Deepa, Suvarna and Kamaldeep advanced to the next round where they had to cook with ingredients from a surprise object — their personal fridges — which were brought from their homes into the MasterChef kitchen. They had to recreate a dish that they normally cook for their families. Deepa, who cooked a haleem curry, failed to impress the judges and was out of the race for the immunity pin.

Destiny of the menu

In the final challenge of the week, the five remaining contestants — Nayanjyoti, Aruna, Priyanka, Suvarna and Kamaldeep — had to choose ingredients and cooking methods from under a series of cloches placed inside the MasterChef India 2023 kitchen. While Priyanka picked ghee, Suvarna picked minced mutton at first but changed it to Indian salmon. Kamaldeep chose chayote squash; Nayanjyoti picked baking as the cooking method; and Aruna got basil leaves. Kamaldeep’s Amritsari fried fish with hollandaise sauce was adjudged the dish of the day, earning her the immunity pin.