NewsBytes Exclusive: 'MasterChef India's Nidhi Sharma on innovating Himachali cuisine
What's the story
On at least two occasions, the judges of MasterChef India's eighth season returned an empty plate after tasting the dishes.
Both times, the contestant happened to be Nidhi Sharma, a banker from Solang, Himachal Pradesh.
Sharma has been impressing the judges with her Himachali cuisine creations. In conversation with NewsBytes, she talks about challenges in innovating dishes, her journey so far, and more.
#1
Tell us about being back-to-back in three black apron challenges
Since I come from the banking sector, I didn't get enough exposure to cooking in a professional setup the way I got it in the MasterChef kitchen.
Therefore, I always took the black apron challenges positively and learned so many things from it.
At the same time, I'm also proud of myself for having to turn the black aprons into white.
#2
Will you return to banking or start a food venture?
After the show, I'll be returning to my job; it helped me take my first step toward MasterChef India's kitchen. Having said that, I'll also try to make a balance between my passion for food and my profession.
I might consider taking master cooking classes to promote Himachali cuisine. I also have a dream to open cafes, but there's still time for it.
#3
A dish that you cooked and are most proud of
The passion fruit curry with the lobia kofta is my best creation. I'm really proud of myself for being able to create it since it was made from the elements of a mystery box.
The recipe gave a new language to the curry because it was created from a fruit. I replaced Galgal, a local Himachali ingredient, with passion fruit.
#4
Is it tough to innovate recipes keeping Himachali roots intact?
The scarcity of local indigenous ingredients that we use in Himachal Pradesh is one of the biggest challenges. Since I am habitual to those ingredients in my cooking, their unavailability in the MasterChef kitchen makes it difficult for me.
The other most obvious challenge that we all face every day is innovating each recipe and creating a MasterChef-level dish.
#5
List out some strengths and weaknesses of your competitors
All of us in the top 12 are strong competitors. Everybody has their own strengths. A common strength that other contestants have is that they have some professional learning about cooking.
Cooking for me was more of a passion. My lack of professional knowledge about food is my weakness. But every contestant sees a change in their strengths and weaknesses on a daily basis.
#6
Which 'MasterChef' challenge do you dread the most and why?
Mystery box challenges have always stressed me the most. There are so many ingredients that are not found in Himachal Pradesh, and also those that I've never seen before.
To create a dish using ingredients that you are not aware of is quite a dreading task.
Also, the times when I struggled with plating and proportions were also during mystery box challenges.