My 'Mangolicious' lunch

Tired of summers and the scorching heat in the month of June, all I wanted was to go back home from work and eat the chilled mangoes which I kept in the fridge before leaving for office.

This was my daily routine, all the summers and then one day I was invited by Cafe Knosh in Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi, to taste their exclusive 'Mangolicious' menu. It is then when I realised that there is a lot more scope with mango as an ingredient than just having Its slices.

Before going to the venue, I was totally unaware of what will be served to me. But trust me, my eyes were wide opened and mouth started watering when I saw the meticulous range of dishes – from appetizers to the main course – covering different kinds of rice and roti preparations to desserts.

The welcome drinks varied from a very basic 'Mangotini', which was more like a pulpy fruity with slices of mango in it to a very unique amalgamation of coconut and mango in 'Mango coconut chia cooler'. The mocktail menu was an assemblage of three more drinks besides Mangotini and Chia cooler.

Now that the body temperature was normalised and we started to talk, a starter was served in front of us – which was Raw mango stuffed aranchi with sweet mango aioli. Maybe, the name is too big and confusing, but the way it was presented was immensely appealing to my eyes.

Enlisted in the menu were the other four starter items out of which I liked 'Ambi pudina ki machhli' and 'Aam ke kaliyan waale jhinge'. Personally, I didn't like the 'fried chicken' and 'Mango chilli potato' there, as the taste was very basic and boring.

The main-course menu out-stood the charts as the chef had very wisely chosen the dishes and balance of taste and presentation were quite visible.

You won't believe me if I tell you that I had 'Mango Noodles' as my lunch. Will you? Well, they were amongst the best noodles I have ever had in my life.

I am not a big fan of eating fish, but the chef at Cafe Knosh made me fall in love with his second recipe of 'fish' when I had the first bite of 'mango fish curry' with rice. The fish was so soft and the curry had a perfect balance of spices in it. I would give that curry a perfect 10/10.

Also, the Pancha Manga curry, a South Indian mango curry served with nice was okay in taste but the mongo fish curry stole the show.

I literally held my tummy and said "I cannot eat anything else. ENOUGH!" when a very subtle and alluring platter of deserts was kept on my table and the chef asked me to try it.

I swear that even if the chef had not asked me to eat it, I had already made my mind to dive into the beauty and experience its taste.

Now, that I had the mango mousse and cupcake in Cafe Knosh, I would not be able to try any other mango dessert without comparing it with the one I just had!

It was so delicious and pleasing to my eyes that in no time I ate the whole palate and wanted to ask for more.

Overall, I had a wonderful experience and I would definitely love to experiment with the king of fruits, now that I know that it blends with so many things to make a perfect dish.

This festival offering plenty of happiness with mangoes will last until June 25.