This summer delight truly lives up to its reputation as ‘The king of fruits’, and why not, even the Prime Minister was heard fawning over it in an interview a few weeks ago! As it gloats over its new found celebrity status, chefs in the capital are also trying to give the majestic aam a makeover befitting of a czar, one that departs from mainstream shakes, lassis and ice creams. So you have the mango marrying the most unlikely of partners – pizzas, sushis, kebabs, and more.
The chefs have taken an avant-garde approach towards the fruit and curated dishes that balance the tartness of raw mango and quirky sweetness of ripe mango. They concede that not all experiments may get them a raving response as loyalists of fruit have their typical way of consuming it as just slices, or in smoothies, sorbet, aam panna, shrikhand, etc.
Chef Monu Kumar at The Imperial Spice, who has come up with the exotic Mango Dahi Kebab, confesses that people are initially sceptical to order his dish, but their curiosity to try this novel concept gets the better of them. “This is an attempt to introduce modern food to a set of diners who can embrace the twists. Mango Dahi Kebab is a melange of the fruit served curd with raw mango salsa dip. A single bite can put taste buds on a roller-coaster of sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami flavours,” he says.
Also jumping on the mango wagon is Chef Sahar Bajaj at Plum by Bent Chair has blended mango with avocado and vinaigrette rice, rolled with vakhami and dusted with togarashi to serve Mango Sushi. While Unplugged Courtyard’s chef, Ravinder Kumar Dhingra has conjured Crispy Stir Fry Mango with Spicy Hoisin. “Hoisin has a sweet and sour taste to it, which goes very well with charred mango. The dish is the perfect example of meat paired with fruit. We have also created signatures like Thai Raw Mango Salad, Raw Mango Lemonade and Mango Jalapeno Margarita to celebrate mango mania,” says Chef Dhingra.
They, however, are cautious about being overzealous while pushing the envelope in their kitchens, as the flavours dominating mango are potent and can both make and mar a dish. The counter in what Chef Harangad Singh from Prankster says, “The sweetness and texture of mango make it a hero. However, its quantity must be used skilfully. Its sweetness can be used in innovative dishes, but overusing it can also overpower the spices and other flavours of the dish.” Chef Singh has created a Mango Sandwich and Mango Swissroll to revisit the childhood nostalgia of mango jam and cassata ice cream with aamras.
At Cafe Delhi Heights, dishes from Cosmopolitan Delhi include a multigrain grilled panini with a mango twist, and Mango Salsa Verde with chicken breast and sole fillet. A delicious plate of quesadillas served with mango salsa, and a thick-crust mango and rocket Piedmontese Pizza and more. “Eating mango as a fruit becomes a little boring. To make it interesting, we try to inculcate the fruit in our special menu says Chef Aashish Singh.