Texas Chef Jassi Bindra Wins Episode of Food Network’s ‘Chopped’ With Eclectic Spin on Indian Cuisine
- The co-owner and executive chef at Amrina in Woodlands made stuffed, fried poblanos, grilled short ribs and a spin on rabri.
A Sikh American chef’s eclectic spin on Indian cuisine helped him win a recently-aired episode on the Food Network series “Chopped.” Jassi Bindra, co-owner and executive chef at Amrina in Woodlands, Texas, won the $10,000 grand prize on the episode that aired on Aug. 15. He beat out three other chefs from across the country in a set of three 20- to 30-minute cooking rounds, impressing judges Chris Santos, Maneet Chauhan and Eric Adjepong.
Before crafting the Amrina concept alongside co-owners and brothers Surpreet and Preet Paul Singh in 2022, Bindra spent several years at the Michelin Guide-featured Northern Indian restaurant Punjab Grill in Washington, D.C.
According to the Houston Chronicle, he kept the show and his win secret for 10 months after the competition, and hosted a watch party at his restaurant when the episode aired.
The Houston Eater described Bindra’s demeanor on the show as “confident.’ At the onset, he announced his intention to use traditional recipes from India with his own eclectic touch. “I’m here to show how Indian cuisine can be sexy,” said Bindra before facing off in the appetizer challenge. He made stuffed poblano peppers with sardines and portobello mushrooms and topped them with a cheddar cheese fondue that used peanut butter and panko bread crumbs. For the main course, he made grilled short ribs with a pea green salad and Cola-coconut sauce, plated with a liquid egg mousse. After moving to the final round — dessert — he transformed a giant fortune cookie, gooseberries, blue Hubbard squash, and camel milk into a fortune cookie Rabri.
He told the Houston Chronicle that he believes the short rib dish is what truly solidified his win. “The only thing that came from the judges was that it was delicious. I told them, ‘I need to go back to Texas, so I can’t mess up my meat!’ That made me feel proud.” Describing the show as “a fun challenge,” he said “it brings out your inner qualities with planning and time management,” adding that if given a chance, he’d love to showcase his skills again.
Along with celebrating his win, he plans to donate some of his prize money to charity, particularly the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The remainder will go to “gadgets for his kitchen, gifts for his son, and partying with his friends,” he told the Chronicle. He also plans to offer a three-course Chopped menu at Amrina, “with a twist on the three dishes featured on the show, so diners can get a literal taste.”