MasterChef India Season 8, Episode 49: MasterClass: Spices of India with Chef Pooja Dhingra and Chef Ranveer Brar

Auditions - Part 1

Three of the most celebrated chefs of India, Chef Ranveer Brar, Chef Vikas Khanna and Chef Pooja Dhingra, test home cooks from all across the country and choose the best to get them ready for the MasterChef kitchen.

43 min

Auditions - Part 2

Three of the most celebrated chefs of India, Chef Ranveer Brar, Chef Vikas Khanna and Chef Pooja Dhingra, test home cooks from all across the country and choose the best to get them ready for the MasterChef kitchen.

39 min

Auditions - Part 3

Three of the most celebrated chefs of India, Chef Ranveer Brar, Chef Vikas Khanna and Chef Pooja Dhingra, test home cooks from all across the country and choose the best to get them ready for the MasterChef kitchen.

39 min

Bootcamp - Part 1

The Top 22 contestants face a challenging cook-off, where they compete not just against each other but also against time. By the end of the week, only the Top 12 will get a chance to battle it out in the kitchen for the MasterChef title.

45 min

Bootcamp - Part 2

The Top 22 contestants face a challenging cook-off, where they compete not just against each other but also against time. By the end of the week, only the Top 12 will get a chance to battle it out in the kitchen for the MasterChef title.

47 min

Regional Core Ingredient Challenge

The Top 12 home cooks kick off the first challenge by using ingredients from their regions. Mid-challenge, the judges introduce three surprise ingredients to incorporate. Two contestants with the least impressive dishes exit the immunity pin race.

55 min

Giant Mystery Box Challenge with Chef Kunal Kapur

The home cooks face the world's biggest Mystery Box in a challenge with Chef Kunal Kapur. Inside, they find 10 ingredients and 10 tools. Each cook must craft a dish using at least 4 ingredients and 1 tool within 60 minutes. The competition heats up as 2 contestants are eliminated from the immunity pin race.

57 min

Overnight Challenge with Chef Suvir Saran - Part 1

Chef Suvir Saran introduces a novel challenge in the MasterChef Kitchen: The Overnight Challenge. Split into 2 parts, cooks have 45 minutes to prep, allowing for fermentation, marination, and slow cooking. They return after 12 hours and have 60 minutes to finish their dishes. In the end, 3 underwhelming dishes lead to elimination from the immunity pin race.

43 min

Overnight Challenge with Chef Suvir Saran - Part 2

Chef Suvir Saran introduces a novel challenge in the MasterChef Kitchen: The Overnight Challenge. Split into 2 parts, cooks have 45 minutes to prep, allowing for fermentation, marination, and slow cooking. They return after 12 hours and have 60 minutes to finish their dishes. In the end, 3 underwhelming dishes lead to elimination from the immunity pin race.

55 min

Chef Pooja Dhingra’s Replication Challenge

In the final challenge of the week, five home cooks aim to replicate Chef Pooja Dhingra's Universe of Happiness. They must follow the recipe and create the dish within 150 minutes. The home cook who best captures taste, innovation, and presentation earns the season's first immunity pin.

55 min

ASMR Challenge

The home cooks usually focus on taste, innovation, and presentation. But this time, they must add a 'sound factor' to their food. After this challenge, two contestants will don black aprons and cook the entire week until they claim the title of the best dish of the day.

52 min

Vikas Khanna's Innovation Challenge

Innovation is the key to winning this challenge. The 12 home cooks must create a dish using the ingredients from one of the three signature dishes presented. At the 30-minute mark, three dishes are disqualified based on innovation, and at the 60-minute mark, 3 more are disqualified for presentation. Only six dishes will be tasted, with the best securing a spot for the week.

53 min

Chef Marco Pierre White – Water Mystery Box and Katauti Challenge: Part 1

Chef Marco Pierre White takes over the MasterChef Kitchen with a unique challenge. Home cooks face limited gas, electricity, and a mystery box containing just 250 ml of water. In this 90-minute challenge, the first 15 minutes have no gas or electricity. The following 30 minutes offer only electricity, then 30 minutes of gas, and the last 15 minutes both are available. The best dish wins an advantage for next week, while the top 4 are saved for the week.

54 min

Chef Marco Pierre White – Water Mystery Box and Katauti Challenge: Part 2

Chef Marco Pierre White takes over the MasterChef Kitchen with a unique challenge. Home cooks face limited gas, electricity, and a mystery box containing just 250 ml of water. In this 90-minute challenge, the first 15 minutes have no gas or electricity. The following 30 minutes offer only electricity, then 30 minutes of gas, and the last 15 minutes both are available. The best dish wins an advantage for next week, while the top 4 are saved for the week.

50 min

Chef Ranveer Brar’s Pressure Test Challenge

In this week's final challenge, Chef Ranveer Brar sets up the season's first pressure test. Eight home cooks must recreate his dish to avoid elimination. As the challenge ends, the two weakest dishes lead to eliminations.

51 min

Veeba Blindfold Taste Test + Safe Or Secret Mystery Box Challenge with Prateek Sadhu

Week 4 kicks off with a Veeba Blindfold Taste Test. Home cooks must identify Veeba Sauce ingredients, with the highest correct answers earning 10 extra minutes in the next challenge. Then, Chef Prateek Sadhu presents a Safe Mystery Box with visible ingredients, offering 60 minutes of cooking time, and a Secret Mystery Box with concealed ingredients, allowing 75 minutes for preparation. The top 2 dishes will receive advantages in the following challenge.

57 min

Team Service Challenge at Mulk Restaurant: Part 1

In the first Local Offsite and Team Service Challenge at Mulk Restaurant, the chefs of the two top dishes become captains, choosing their team members. They craft a 3-course pre-Partition Indian meal with mentoring from Mulk's owner and chef. The teams battle for immunity from the elimination challenge.

48 min

Team Service Challenge at Mulk Restaurant: Part 2

In the first Local Offsite and Team Service Challenge at Mulk Restaurant, the chefs of the two top dishes become captains, choosing their team members. They craft a 3-course pre-Partition Indian meal with mentoring from Mulk's owner and chef. The teams battle for immunity from the elimination challenge.

55 min

Liquid to Dessert Challenge with Tejasvi Chandela

Five home cooks enter the kitchen to face Chef Tejasvi's Liquid to Dessert challenge. Assigned one of the five unique drinks, the home cooks must make a MasterChef-worthy dessert, keeping in mind the essence of the drink they were assigned. The best dish earns immunity from the elimination challenge.

51 min

Chef Vicky Ratnani's Pressure Test

The last challenge of the week - a classic Pressure Test! Chef Vicky Ratnani brings one of his favourite dishes for the home cooks to replicate. The home cook who fails to impress will be eliminated.

54 min

Diwali Challenge with Family

On the auspicious day of Diwali, the home cooks meet their family members, waiting with a small gift, in the MasterChef kitchen. The home cooks must make a dish celebrating Diwali on a plate using India Gate Basmati Rice. The six best dishes fight for an advantage in the next challenge.

51 min

Diwali Challenge / Core Ingredient Challenge

The six best Diwali on a plate dishes fight for an advantage - the elusive Veeba Game Changer Card. The advantage grants the winner the ability to skip one of the next week's initial two challenges. Assigned one of the six core ingredients, the home cooks pair up with one of the previous season's Top 6 matching their core ingredients.

48 min

Core Ingredient Challenge with Last Season's Top 6

Having paired up with the previous season's contestants based on their core ingredients, the home cooks lead as head chefs while the ex-contestants become their sous chefs. The winner receives immunity for the week and secures the coveted Veeba power card.

55 min

5 Finger Nutrition Challenge with Pooja Makhija

Nutritionist Pooja Makhija presents a challenge. The eight home cooks aim to create a balanced, nutritious dish, considering the five vital nutrients for a healthy life. Their sole pantry is the Pyramid, its five levels symbolizing each nutrient. Judges unveil a mid-challenge twist: the mandatory use of two revealed ingredients. The top four dishes receive immunity for the week.

53 min

Chef Garima Cook Along Challenge

Four home cooks face the first Cook Along of the season with Chef Garima Arora. The home cooks must cook alongside her, matching her speed, techniques and detailing to avoid elimination. Only the Top 8 will move on to Week 6.

55 min

Fire, Water and Earth Mystery Box

The judges of 'MasterChef India - Tamil' bring the first challenge of the week to the eight remaining home cooks. From each of the three Mystery Boxes, the Fire Mystery Box, Water Mystery Box and Earth Mystery Box, the home cooks must use an ingredient and create a MasterChef-level dish in 60 minutes. The bottom dish of the day is directly sent into the elimination challenge.

54 min

Zero Waste Sustainability Challenge – Maggi Masala Ae Magic Kitchen Kari Challenge

Seven home cooks take on the zero-waste sustainability challenge where the main ingredient is coconut. The contestants must make a dish that maximises the utilisation of the ingredient with the bottom dish sending its maker directly into elimination. The special guests for this episode are the judges of 'Masterchef India - Telugu'.

57 min

Gourmet Street Food Team Service Challenge: Saffron - Part I

This offsite challenge takes the remaining six home cooks from the MasterChef Kitchen to JW Marriot's Saffron, where they are split into two teams to tackle a team service challenge. They must present a gourmet street food platter in a magnificent way along with a Veeba Mayonnaise Dip. The team that loses goes into the elimination challenge.

46 min

Gourmet Street Food Team Service Challenge: Saffron - Part II

This offsite challenge takes the remaining six home cooks from the MasterChef Kitchen to JW Marriot's Saffron, where they are split into two teams to tackle a team service challenge. They must present a gourmet street food platter in a magnificent way along with a Veeba Mayonnaise Dip. The team that loses goes into the elimination challenge.

50 min

Smell Test + Masala Blend Challenge

It's black apron day and the five home cooks face the two challenges set by guest chef Ajay Chopra. The first is a smell test where the home cooks must identify the spices in the different masala blends presented through their sense of smell only. The home cook with the most number of correct guesses gets an advantage for the next round. In the second round, the home cooks must highlight their masala blend in a MasterChef-level dish, with the worst one seeing its creator being eliminated.

56 min

Grains Mini Challenge + Millets Core Ingredient Challenge

Chef Anahita Dhondy kicks off Week 7 with a two-level challenge. In the first round, the home cooks must guess the different types of grains presented, with the winner getting an advantage for the next round. In the second round, the home cooks use millets as their primary ingredient with a mid-challenge twist. The home cook presenting the worst dish of the day will find themselves in the next elimination.

57 min

Aashirvaad Select Atta Fan Feast Challenge

Divided into two teams, the home cooks must prepare a feast for their fans and include a bread basket using Aashirvaad Select Atta. The fans and judges vote for their favourite dishes, with the winning team earning a huge advantage for the next challenge.

59 min

Dream On A Plate Challenge – Maggi Apna Food Business: Part I

Based on the aspirations of the six home cooks, the contestants must create a culinary masterpiece reflecting their dreams on a plate. To help them, Chef Saransh Goila enters the MasterChef kitchen. The best dish receives a special prize, along with becoming the first finalist of the season.

48 min

Dream On A Plate Challenge – Maggi Apna Food Business: Part II

The judges taste the dishes that reflect the contestants' dreams on a plate. The best dish receives a special prize, along with becoming the first finalist of the season.

46 min

Time or Ingredient Challenge

Chef Hussain Shahzad brings the last black apron challenge of the season and the home cooks must choose what is more important to them - time or ingredients. The worst dish of the day will be eliminated.

56 min

Audition Core Ingredient Challenge

For making it to the final week of MasterChef India, the Top 6 home cooks are presented with a Spaces hamper. The week kicks off with a challenge where the home cooks are given an ingredient from the dish they presented in their audition. They must use the ingredient as a core and feature it in their dish. The one that falls short will have their cook eliminated.

58 min

Chef Manu Chandra Pressure Test

Guest Chef Manu Chandra presents a challenge where the home cooks must replicate his signature dish in 120 minutes. The home cook who falls short will leave the MasterChef kitchen.

59 min

Chef Manish Mehrotra's Photo Replication Challenge - Part I

The Top 4 home cooks get a surprise visit from Veeba founder Viraj Bahl, who presents them with special Veeba hampers. Guest Chef Manish Mehrotra presents them with a Photo Replication Challenge, where the home cooks' culinary skills are put to the test. They must replicate the dish sketched by Manish Mehrotra within 120 minutes.

46 min

Chef Manish Mehrotra's Photo Replication Challenge - Part II

The Photo Replication Challenge continues with the contestants bidding for time with Guest Chef Manish Mehrotra. The amount of time they bid is doubled and deducted from the 120 minutes they have for the challenge.

Grand Finale - Signature Dish Challenge

In the ultimate challenge of the competition, the last four home cooks will prepare their signature dish in 90 minutes. The judges evaluate these creations based on three crucial criteria - taste, innovation, and presentation. The dish that accumulates the highest score in this challenge will win the title of MasterChef India.

58 min

MasterClass: Giant Macaron Cake and Giant Chocolate Cookie

Macaron Queen Chef Pooja Dhingra takes us on a baking tour with her two signature dishes. She shares the recipes for her Giant Macaron Cake and Giant Chocolate cookie, dotted with interesting facts about baking and Chef Pooja's journey to becoming the Macaron Queen.

41 min

MasterClass: Date Night with Chef Vikas Khanna and Chef Pooja Dhingra

Chef Vikas and Chef Pooja curate a perfect dinner date menu that is an expression of love and gratitude. With love in the air and dinner on the table, Chef Vikas and Chef Pooja jointly serve a three-course meal with a salt-baked Kohlrabi appetizer, a main course of Mushroom Ragu with glazed rice and ending it with a sweet affair of chocolate mousse cake.

42 min

MasterClass: One King Ingredient with Chef Vikas Khanna and Chef Pooja Dhingra

In a showcase of skills, Chefs Vikas and Pooja prepare a dish using just one ingredient each and treating it as the king of the plate. They play with textures and curate a dish out of potato and milk by featuring them. They aim to inspire viewers to get creative and aim for the perfect dish with minimal ingredients.

43 min

MasterClass: Game Night with Chef Ranveer Brar and Pooja Dhingra

Presenting a beautiful platter of food for friends while hosting game night will be a breeze thanks to Chefs Ranveer and Pooja. Along with a MasterClass on making never-ending cannoli chaat and three different flavours of choux pastries, the chefs also share interesting anecdotes from their own friends and family groups and game nights.

44 min

MasterClass: Chef Vikas’s Touch

From New York, Chef Vikas brings two recipes - the Khasta Kachori and Kashmir ke Os - and shares his experiences and journey through them. No matter how far he may be from India, he has never forgotten his roots; which is why no matter where he goes, he goes by 'beDesi'.

42 min

MasterClass: Pastries with Chef Pooja Dhingra

Chef Pooja presents a hack to pack homemade desserts for travel, solves the problem for all those who couldn’t make cakes their travel companion, and tricks everyone with her pumpkin which is in reality a pumpkin mousse pastry. She also gives an interesting insight into making your own moulds.

36 min

MasterClass: What’s in the Refrigerator with Chef Vikas Khanna

Chef Vikas is excited to curate something out of the leftovers in his refrigerator and elevates an ordinary Mutton Biriyani into Pardanasheen Biriyani. He takes us back to his hometown, Amritsar, and showcases the Roti Chori that tasted exactly like how his grandmother made it.

34 min

MasterClass: Alternative Cooking with Chef Ranveer Brar and Chef Vikas Khanna

Chef Vikas takes a healthier approach to an Indian thali but this time with millets in an Ethiopian platter. On the other hand, Chef Ranveer Brar finds an alternative cooking technique to satisfy the taste buds but not harm the environment by making Laal Maas Tart out of Banana Flower.

45 min

MasterClass: Chef Ranveer’s Recipes

Chef Ranveer takes us to his culinary journey from his childhood to his earlier days in the profession. He shares his experiences and how Saro ke Galouti Kebab and Pithode played an important role in building his career.

36 min