Cheese naan was our invention, says Paris’ first Indian restaurant

An Indian restaurant in Paris, which claims to be the city’s first, says it invented the Indian/French fusion cheese naan – to appeal to local tastes through bread and cheese.

Annapurna made the culinary breakthrough in around 1968, claims owner Michel Rissier, 71.

The cheese naan is now served globally, including in India, but Michel said his father André added it to the menu specifically to make Indian food more accessible to the French.

Appealing to Parisians

André Rissier previously lived in London with his British wife and two sons. As the food scene in the British capital developed, he enjoyed sampling different cuisines with family and friends and particularly loved Indian restaurants.

As he regularly visited Paris on business, he decided to open an Indian restaurant there, which he did on November 22, 1967. It was located near the Champs-Elysées and is still open today, almost 57 years on, with cheese naans made to the original recipe.

Most of the restaurant’s early customers tended to be diplomats or tourists.

“We needed to attract the Parisians, one way or another,” said Michel.

“Knowing that the food might be too spicy or exotic for them, the idea came to my father of associating a very French product, cheese, with a traditional Indian bread, the naan.” It created a buzz at the time. 

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At first, it was not on the menu and would be served only to customers who asked for something a bit different. They also kept the English name, rather than calling it naan au fromage.

Vache qui rit 

André Rissier settled on using Vache qui rit (Laughing Cow), a processed cheese.

“The consistency, its level of humidity, is perfect for being cooked in the tandoor [an Indian vase-shaped oven]. It could be done with different cheeses, but you will not attain the same levels of onctueux (smoothness),” Michel said.

Versions of cheese naans with paneer, a traditional Indian cheese, are also made, but Michel said it is drier and nowhere near as good, because it will not melt in the same way.

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'My father invented it - point barre'

It is difficult to prove categorically whether André Rissier really did invent the cheese naan.

It is likely that naans incorporating some form of cheese were made in India before the 1960s. However, Annapurna may well have been the first to use a French cheese and cook it in the traditional way, and the first restaurant in the world to serve it on the menu. 

André Rissier died in 1977 and Michel said he has never sought to boast about his father’s creation. 

While other Indian restaurants in Paris also claim to have invented it, Michel said its genesis is incontrovertible: “My father invented it – point barre.”

He estimates Annapurna has probably made over one million cheese naans since its inception, and mused that one million cheese naans may be made worldwide every single day.