All that hype about valentine and finger food and aphrodisiacs seem really ironical to me at the moment.Its 1am and I am sitting in bed ,with a heap of test papers to grade with answers about human resources and population and how it is related to development. Population growth and aphrodisiacs... and then they want Valentine's day too. C*$#..
All that brouhaha apart...for a change , my blog is being caught by the search engines as I am blogging prior to the Valentine's Day. So this is in continuance.Fondue. In a small ceramic pot that can be heated. Though my Cuisinart Fondue pot sits sullenly on my side board-its size prevents me to use it oftrn. According to Wikipedia:-
Fondue (/ˈfɒndjuː/ or /ˈfɒnduː/;[1]French pronunciation: [fɔ̃dy]) is a Swiss,Italian, and French dish of melted cheese served in a communal pot (caquelon) over a portable stove(réchaud), and eaten by dipping long-stemmed forks with bread into the cheese. It was promoted as a Swiss national dish by the Swiss Cheese Union (Schweizerische Käseunion) in the 1930s, and was popularized in North America in the 1960s.Since the 1950s, the name "fondue" has been generalized to other dishes in which a food is dipped into a communal pot of hot liquid: chocolate fondue, in which pieces of fruit are dipped into a melted chocolate mixture, andfondue bourguignonne, in which pieces of meat are cooked in hot oil.
A little savoury is very welcome on the tongue. And this is a healthy snack platter ,light on the tongue and tummy alike.Great to serve as hors d'oeuvre or as finger snacks.
And this has a desi twist.Pao Bhaji Masala in my fondue.
See how.
For the
Cheese Fondue Desi Style with Pao Bhaji Masala - Get set for Valentine's Day...
you need
100 gms cheese spread -I used Amul Spicy Garlic
1 tsp butter
1 small onion chopped really fine
1 tsp pao Bhaji masala-I use Everest
1 tsp plain flour
1/2 cup full fat milk
salt to taste
Finger snacks or crudités like carrots stick, fried lotus stems, french fries, bread chunks ,crackers etc
Start with the butter and onions.
Sauté till the onions are translucent on a low flame.
Add in the flour to make a roux. Feel free to add more butter if you wish.Add the Pao Bhaji Masala and stir.
I had these flavors at my disposal. I find these cheese spread very handy and healthy. Low cal ,high in flavor.
Add the milk into the cooked flour, butter and onion mix and stir well.Add in the cheese spread. The main reason I add cheese spread is because that avoids the grating business.
this melts in so well.
Thats it.
Taste for salt.
Pour into the fondue pot and arrange the crudités around it.
Carrots and steamed broccoli florets and string beans taste great. The combination of cheese and vegetables is great.
I sliced lotus stem diagonally and fried them till crisp, along with French fries and chicken sausages.
This makes a pretty conversation starter before a meal , adding a little crunch to the wine.If you are following the international trends for valentine's, you should know that fondue is the trending food for Valentine's Day. Try this or try my Chocolate Fondue With Fruits .
Totally smooth, luscious and yumm.Feel free to experiment. Use cheddar ,brie, blue whatever cheese you can...but think before you judge me-I live in Jalandhar...Cheddar and Mozzarella rule the roost.
The crudités-play around according to your taste. Be sure to include bread. There issomething inherently satisfying about bread and cheese.
Use the long pronged forks or use your fingers, lick the sauce off wherever...
Enjoy the day.

So which fondue is on your mind today???
