When did the Champagne house change its name from 'Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin' to 'Veuve Clicquot'? Just fire up the burner, spear the bread and dip in.There was time when we were so fond of the widow and her champagne as the photo shows. You can get imported or even Indian-made packets, or make it with the imported cheese (GruyГЁre and Emmentaler) that is now easily available and white wine. Winter is a good time to try it, particularly outdoors on a terrace. And, of course, the concept was extended to dessert, with chocolate substituting for cheese, and fruits and biscuits for bread.ДЄll these variations can make one forget how good the original, simple version is. I was once served a fondue with crisp fried bhindi for dipping, probably a variation too far. The jalapeno and cheese fondue that restaurants in Ahmedabad and Mumbai started serving was essentially do-ityourself chilli cheese toast. Gujaratis also have a passion for snacks, and fondue fits right in. When they were already putting cheese on pavbhaji, and even traditional dishes like undhiyu (a Surati lady once described the вЂglobal undhiyuвЂ™ she makes with broccoli, oregano and cheese!) they could hardly fail to love a pot of cheese. Gujaratis in particular, early converts to cheese thanks to Amul, adored it. It helped that it was vegetarian and the heat evaporated the alcohol from the wine. Every morsel was relished, from that first palate burning glob to the delicious thin crust scraped off at the end, which the Oxford Companion says is mysteriously called la religieuse (the nun).ДЄs more Indians travelled to Switzerland, particularly on the trail of Bollywood in the Alps, they also fell for fondue. Long after he had retired to Chennai, my aunt abroad knew she had to bring a pack of ready to cook fondue on her annual visits. My family were early fans thanks to my diplomat grandfather being posted in Geneva. It doesnвЂ™t work in multi-course Western meals because the rich cheese and wine mixture rather ruins any food that follows.ДЄccording to the amazing new Oxford Companion to Cheese, fondue started вЂњamong poor town dwellers as a way to make stale bread and hard cheese palatable.Д«ut Indians love it.

According to the amazing new Oxford Companion to Cheese, fondue started вЂњamong poor town dwellers as a way to make stale bread and hard cheese palatableвЂќ. The problem might also be too much weight being given to what was originally just a hearty snack. As is vividly shown in Asterix in Switzerland, the fun of dipping can quickly become a gluey, chewy bore. The pleasure palled of what Gill acerbically described as вЂњpustular, boiling dairy-fatвЂќ which either burned your mouth or stole your bread. вЂњThe fondue set broke down the formality of placement and silver serviceвЂ¦ you canвЂ™t imagine how daring it was.вЂќД«ut as kitchen-cum-dining rooms became common, the fondue set - pot, stand, burner, skewers - seemed dated. It was from the kitchen, but used in the dining room, the spirit burner keeping cheese molten so diners could dip in with skewers speared with chunks of stale (so slightly harder) bread. A A Gill, the brilliant food writer who sadly died recently, once explained the iconic importance of the Swiss fondue set in the West.

Asterix fondue