Eggless Mango Cheese Cake

‘Aaj sher kaise ghaas kha raha hai?’ (Howcome tiger is nibbling on grass today?) were the comments we exchanged when any non-veg freak friend would opt for vegetarian food. Yes, I shamefully admit that I too have ridiculed several of my vegetarian friends and even pitied on them for missing out on non-vegetarian food. Now that I do my daily rounds of the blogosphere, I realize that we carnivores are actually depriving ourselves from so many exotic vegetarian preparations! Mallika’s Veg Bowl is one such blog which mesmerizes readers with astounding photography and visually appealing presentation. When I first saw her Eggless Mango Cheese Cake pics, I went mangoes (Oops, bananas) over them. I made it and got rave reviews. My pics don’t do justice to the taste of this Cheese Cake.  I have so many people asking me for Cake recipes but backing out just because they don’t possess an oven. This is a No-Bake Cake. You just need a refrigerator to let the cake set beautifully. Prepare this the previous night and leave in the refrigerator if you have guests over the next day. I assure you that this will win you accolades.

Ingredients

For the Base:
100 gm digestive biscuits (I used Parle-G)
50 gm melted butter

Cheesecake Filling:
100 ml 25% fat cream
150 ml mango flavored thick yogurt (I used Amul's Aam Srikhand)
50 gm cottage cheese or paneer
4 tbsp castor sugar (or to taste)
1 tbsp agar agar / gelatin
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Line the sides of a cake tin with a cling film such that extra portions of it hang out. (I used a rectangle cake tin. I did not have a cling film, so used butter paper)
2. For the biscuit base: Put the biscuits into a ziplock bag & crush them to fine powder with the help of a rolling pin. You may also powder the biscuits in a mixie or food processor. Remove and add in the melted butter and mix them well. Press this mixture into the base of a spring form pan or a lined cake tin. Chill this base for 30 minutes.
3. Pulse the cottage cheese to a fine puree along with 75 ml of the milk cream and vanilla. Add in Amul's Aam Srikhand and castor sugar to taste.
4. Dissolve a tablespoon of agar agar in the remaining 25 ml of cream and bring it to a boil. When the flakes dissolve, add this to the above cheesecake mix and give a final vigorous pulse so that all the ingredients are well combined. Transfer this mixture to the prepared biscuit base. Pat the tin gently to remove any air bubble that may have formed.
5. Refrigerate the cheesecake to set for atleast 4-6 hours. Leave it in the refrigerator overnight or for atleast 6 hrs. Before serving, allow it to sit on the counter for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh mango slices

This goes out to Priya and Aipi's 'Bookmarked Recipes Every Tuesday' event