Summer Indulgence-Mango Cheesecake and a fun competition between team KFB and Crossindia

Pic courtesy : Swarnendu De

KolkataFood Bloggers recently had a competition of its kind with Crossindia team which happens to be my husbands dream project. The idea was to get together and have fun over food which is a common passion of both the teams. Team Crossindia has developed this cooking challenges on a monthly basis as their team building and bonding exercise. 
On a scorching May afternoon we all met for a memorable day of fun, food and interaction. The competition had 3 segments of serving for about 20 people with a starter, a main dish and a dessert by both the teams. 
Loads of planning, hard work and dedication went into the competition and some fabulous dishes were churned out by both teams. 
For starters team KFB presented an innovative dish named Vodka Prawn Croquettes which had a unique filling and an outer covering. This was served with a tamarind based relish. 

And team Crossindia presented a classic dish with an amazing presentation called Devilled Crab where crab meat and mushrooms were mixed with a rich white sauce and cheese toppings and was served in crab shells itself. 

The main dish from KFB was a family recipe of Bangladeshi Roast Chicken adorned with boiled eggs and served with pulao which was devoured in no time. 

Team Crossindia served a classic Thai dish called Pla Manao where steamed Bhetki fish was served with a thai sauce flavoured with thai herbs, lemons and palm sugar.

Finally the dessert section had a Summer special in Mango Cheesecake presented by team KFB which had three layers of goodness-a biscuit layer, a mango flavoured cheesecake layer topped with a fresh mango jelly layer garnished with fresh fruits. 

Team Crossindia served and won all hearts with a Thai dessert called Tap Tim Samsee which is coconut cream flavoured with pandana leaves and served with chilled and coloured water chestnuts.  

For each course of meal, people were requested to vote for their favourite dish. Team Crossindia won hearts and votes with their splendid dishes. Team KFB lost by marginal votes but went back with a memorable day. 
Here are some pics of the fun we all had. 
Pic courtsey : Swarnendu De

Dart fun

Chit chats 

Team KFB

Team Crossindia

Hop on to the recipe of the dessert fit for these summers

Ingredients : Yields about 8 individual servings

Biscuit layer : 

• 6-8 digestive biscuits 
• 3-4 tbsp melted butter

Cheesecake : 

• 1 block of Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature 
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup mango pulp, strained (requires about 2 mangoes)
• 1 tbsp gelatin
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 100 gms whipped cream

Mango jelly layer : 

• 1 cup mango pulp
• 1 tbsp gelatin
• 1/4 cup hot water

Procedure : 

Biscuit layer :

Crush biscuits fine. 

Add melted butter and mix well. 

If the mixture starts clumping together, it is ready to be pressed onto the base of the serving glass. If not, add more butter. 

Refrigerate.

Cheesecake layer :

In a bowl whip the cream cheese well. 

Add sugar and mix.

Add mango pulp.

Dissolve gelatin in hot water and allow it cool a little bit. 

Add to the cream cheese mixture and mix well.

Gently fold in whipped cream.

Spoon the mixture in the serving glasses and refrigerate for an hour.

Mango jelly layer : 

Dissolve gelatin in hot water and allow to cool little bit.

Mix with the mango pulp and pour on top of the serving glasses.

Serve chilled with some fruits as garnish.

Notes : 

• Replace cream cheese with equal quantity of paneer and hung curd. Blend well in a mixer to get a smooth consistency. 
• Experiment with other flavours like strawberry, blueberry or lemon.

Sending this recipe to KFB's ongoing event Summer related recipes :  

Happy Cheese-caking

Amrita