A cheesy delight

Fewer things can be as heart-warming as a hot molten cheese dip, and which dish can embody the concept better than a Fondue? Fondue, the Swiss national dish, which originates from the French word Fondre, meaning ‘to melt,’ is making its way into the heart of Delhiites as well. A select number of restaurants in Delhi are offering Fondue and foodies are lapping it up like this smouldering delight should be.

Fondue is a speciality of the cold European countries where people, after a hard day at work, sit around a fire with a pot hung over it. The pot is filled with beer, copious amounts of cheese are added to it, followed by certain spices, and then diners dip long forks with bread crumbs into the mixture and have it. The fire continues to simmer, making sure that the cheese does not harden, and at the end of the meal, the toasted cheese at the bottom of the pot is broken and distributed among the diners.

Initially, a fondue referred to only a cheese prepared thus. Nowadays, though, molten chocolate served with dippers is also called a Chocolate Fondue. The French dish of meats boiled in stock, oil and/or beer have also come to be called Fondue Bourguignonne.

Sandeep Tanwar, manager of Simply Fondue in Nehru Place, says, “Fondues are a great way of community dining. Even seeing how a Fondue is prepared can be very relaxing. In SF, we make Fondues right in front of diners on their tabletops. They also have the option of preparing their own Fondues with our ingredients.”

“In India,” he adds, “Our palates are more suited to spicy food. Thankfully, Fondues provide the option of being customised with different kind of cheese and spices to suit your taste buds. So we have come up with the Mexican Salsa Fiesta Fondue which makes use of Monterey Jack cheese and Mexican spices. Our Aged Cheddar Cheese Fondue is also fairly popular. The Chocolate Fondue, served in two varieties – Milk and Dark – with sweet cream, walnuts and crumbled Oreons is a go getter.”

While cheese fondues are served with bread crumbs and raw vegetable dippers, chocolate fondues go well with cakes, brownies, wafers and pieces of fruits. Fondues can also be easily made at home, preferably with a portable stove. Enjoy a blissful family dinner with a Fondue!