Considered the king of fruits, the mango is used in a range of dishes from salads and curries to desserts and smoothies. This versatile fruit comes in different varieties — alphonso, badami, kesar, mulgoba — and the taste differs accordingly. Metrolife spoke to a few food experts to know more about the fruit and how it can be incorporated in dishes

Mango mousse cheesecake

By Deepa Shri Rajan, Food Blogger, The Crumb Stash

Ingredients for Mango Mousse

• Mango puree, 2 cups.
• Heavy whipped cream, 2 cups.
• Powdered sugar, 3 tbsp.
• Agar, 2 and 1/4 tsp, soaked in water, 4 tbsp.
• Mangoes diced into small pieces, 1 cup.
• For cracker crust
• Melted butter, 1/2 cup
• Parle crackers, approx. 30
• Sugar, 1/3 cup
• For mango glaze
• Mango puree, 1/2 cup
• Agar, 1 and 1/4 tsp
• Water, 3 tbsps

Method for Mango mousse

• Whip the heavy cream on low speed until it forms stiff peaks.
• Add the powdered sugar and continue whipping on low speed to dissolve the sugar
• Add agar to warm water. Warm the mixture for a minute until you achieve an almost clear solution.
• Cool the mixture down to lukewarm by stirring for about 30 seconds
• Stir the agar solution with the mango puree. Fold in the whipped cream gently to obtain a creamy mango mousse.

To make Cheesecake

• In a small saucepan, melt butter, then place about 30 crackers in a plastic bag, roll with a rolling pin until finely crushed.
• Measure 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs into a medium bowl. Add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar to the crackers. Add the melted butter, stir or blend the ingredients together with your hands. Press the crumb mixture into a pie plate or the pan.
• Pour the mousse into the cracker crust.
• Smoothen the surface of the mousse using a spatula, refrigerate the pan for about 4 hours or until the mousse is firm.
• For the glaze, add agar to warm water, and heat it for a minute or until you see a clear solution.
• Cool the mixture down to lukewarm by stirring for about 30 seconds. Mix the agar solution with the mango puree kept for the glaze.
• Pour it over the chilled and assembled mango mousse cake.
• Allow the cake to chill for at least an hour or two or until the mango glaze layer is firm.
• Unmould the cake by removing the sides of the pan slowly and steadily.
• Garnish with the mango slices and serve it chill.

Mango Popsicle — Fruitella Exotica

By Neetha, Food Consultant

Ingredients

• Chopped mango, 2
• Chopped Kiwi, 1 Chopped peach, 1
• Chopped strawberries, 4
• Honey, 1 tbsp, mixed with water, 100 ml or as required. 
• (A popsicle mould will be required.)

Method

• Cut the mangoes and peach into bite-sized pieces.
• Cut the kiwi and strawberries into small slices.
• Add the fruits into the popsicle mould until its filled; leave about half an inch space from the top.
• Pour the flavoured water into each mould till it’s full.
• Put the top of your popsicle stick 
• mould on, and freeze it 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
• Demould it and enjoy.

Mango fever

Many eateries in the city have curated special menus using mangoes as the main ingredient.

The ice cream brand Pop Hop is offering three varieties of mango-flavoured ice cream this year -- ‘Mango Sorbet’, a water-based popsicle made of mango pulp; ‘Mango Cheesecake’ and the special ‘Stuffed Mango Ice cream’, mango ice cream made of real alphonso mango pulp served in an actual mango skin. Talking to Metrolife, Shruti Panjabi, director of Pop Hop shares, “The seasonal mango flavours contribute 50-60 per cent of the business. Because of the demand, we run out of demand and keep ordering mangoes every second day.”

Rasovara, Flechazo, Monkey Bar, Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park, Mad over Donuts, Café Coffee Day are among the many places offering mango-based delicacies.
 

Limit the consumption

Though mangoes are a great source of essential nutrients, Neetha says that excessive intake of mangoes may contribute to acne since they are high on the glycemic index and increase insulin production.

She adds, “It is also high in fibre, so, excessive consumption might lead to diarrhoea too. Consume mangoes in moderation while limiting your intake of unhealthy sugar from other processed food.”

Fact file

1. Food consultant and state president of Nutrition and Natural Health Sciences Association of India Neetha Bhoopalam shares some nutritional value of the fruit:
2. Contains high levels of vitamin C which is essential for the immune system. One cup of mango provides nearly 70 per cent of the RDI for vitamin C that helps our immune system absorb iron and promotes good health.
3. Also has vitamin A, which is good for the eyes, and vitamin K is beneficial for bone health. 
4. They are good for the heart too; magnesium and potassium in mangoes help in maintaining a healthy pulse rate.
5. They also contain an antioxidant called mangiferin, protecting your cells against free radical damage.