KARACHI: It was not any regular mango party. The Mango Tango Gala organised by Biz Today International in collaboration with Real Spice where as many as 28 contestants entered with a dish or dessert that had mango as the main ingredient took the “King of fruits” to the next level on Tuesday.

Among the delicacies entered in the competition were mango gol gappay, mango dahi baray, mango khow suey, mango rice, mango curry, mango barfi, mango rabri kheer, mango tarts, mango Swiss roll cake, mango tiramisu, mango salsa, mango habanero chicken wings, mango grilled chicken with garlic butter rice, mango colada mousse, mango trifle, mango delight and so much more.

Hadia Obaid, who made mango tiramisu, also thought that it needed a plate of mango salsa on the side. Therefore, she had two entries. Zainab Waseem, who made mango barfi said that she wanted to bring something different than the usual mango delight, mango ice creams, mango trifles, etc. But that was obviously also on the minds of the other contestants who came with mango dishes which many had not heard of or imagined.

Zainab Shabbir, for instance, entertained many questions about her mango curry with lemon rice. People wanted to know if preparing the mango curry involved the usual browning of onions before adding the tomatoes and spices. “Well, there are no onions but yes, there are spices and tomato paste in there,” she told Dawn. Then someone asked if she added salt or sugar to the dish, and she laughed. “I added salt because the mango is itself sweet and tangy by nature,” she explained.

28 contestants enter the competition with sweet and savoury mango dishes

Some contestants put in extra effort in the presentation. Hina Imtiaz had brought with her two mango shaped dishes for her mango puree. “I only bought these yesterday,” she said. And she was in luck as all the three judges there, namely, Chef Beenish, Chef Bilal Mansoor and Chef Asim Rasheed were looking to judge on flavour as well as presentation.

About the event, its main organiser, the Executive Editor of Biz Today International, Rafiq Vayani said that he has been covering the Gulfood event in Dubai for some 15 years now. “We also needed something like that here so I have been organising smaller competitions among local chefs here in Karachi on similar lines,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2025