Avinash Shashidhara of Fitzrovia restaurant Pahli Hill salutes the king of Indian summer fruit with this creamy, juicy and aromatic creation
A BIT ABOUT AVINASH Born and raised in Bangalore, Avinash worked at Claude Bosi’s Hibiscus and spent 10 years at The River Café before running supper clubs inspired by his Indian roots. He’s now head chef at London’s Pahli Hill, which opened in October 2020 with a menu of regional small plates that draws on the tradition of Indian home cooks exchanging recipes. Downstairs is the cocktail bar Bandra Bhai, fitted out to evoke an Indian smugglers’ den.
@AvinashShashidhara@pahlihillbandrabhaiuk pahlihillbandrabhai.com
Alphonso mango cheesecake
Serves 8-10 Hands-on time 20 min, plus at least 2 hours chilling/setting Specialist kit 18cm springform or loose-bottomed cake tin (see Know-how)
MAKE AHEAD Make up to 2 days ahead, to the end of step 4. Unmould and decorate the cheesecake when you’re ready to serve. Leftovers will keep for 1-2 days in the fridge but the base will begin to soften.
EASY SWAPS If you can’t get hold of alphonso mangoes, use any ripe mangoes.
KNOW-HOW You can use any tin up to 23cm, but the base and filling will be thinner. Melt the gelatine briefly over a very low heat – it melts at 31-35°C and exposure to high temperatures will lessen its setting power.
• 100g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
• 200g digestive biscuits, finely crushed (about 12 biscuits)
• 450g full-fat cream cheese (the delicious. testers used Philadelphia)
• 180g double cream
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 large alphonso mangoes (2 stoned, peeled and chopped; 1 stoned, peeled and sliced into ribbons for the topping)
• 3 platinum-grade gelatine leaves (soaked in
