Oktoberfest 2022: Don’t just pair beer with dishes, pour beer into dishes using these boozy food recipes

While hoppy chilled beers are usually enjoyed at the table with food, using the fermented beverage as an ingredient in your dishes can be a fun twist. Pour some of that pint into marinades, batters and sauces and allow its delicious notes to become a part of the dish.

It may have been difficult earlier to find the time to experiment but the ongoing work-from-home arrangement has made many people take the opportunity to enter the kitchen to experiment with food. After a hard day's work or a tiring week, it is certainly a well-deserved fruit of labour. The start to the festive season is definitely another reason why people can celebrate with food.

If you don't know how to start cooking with beer, here is a guide. Oktoberfest is considered the biggest beer festival in the world and while it may have come to an end in Munich, celebrations won't be stopping anytime soon at city restaurants. Mid-day reached out to chefs in and around the city to share innovative food recipes featuring beer.

Beer Murg Tariwala by Chef Anuradha Joshi Medhora, Charoli
Did you ever think that you could add beer to an Indian dish? If not, Mumbai-based Chef Anuradha Joshi Medhora breaks that notion for you. She adds the flavour of beer to a classic Punjabi chicken dish, which will certainly help in celebrating Oktoberfest but with an Indian touch.

Ingredients:
Beer - 100 ml, oil - 2 tbsps, ginger - 3-inch x 3-inch, garlic - 8-10 cloves, green chillies - 6 pcs, fried onions - 2 cups, tomatoes: 1/2 kilo, whole garam masala - bay leaves - 3, big elaichi - 6, small elaichi - 10, Cinnamon - 2 inches, peppercorns - 12, cloves - 6, powdered spices - red chilli powder - 2 tsp, coriander powder - 2 tsp, garam masala - 1.5 tsp, saunf powder - 1/2 tsp, jeera powder - 1 tsp, freshly chopped coriander - 1 cup, lime - 1.

Method:
1. Marinate chicken pieces with a little bit of salt, light beer, turmeric powder, and oil. Refrigerate for one hour but no more than two hours.
2. Chop ginger, garlic, tomatoes and green chilies.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add whole garam masala. When the whole spices start to splutter, add chopped ginger and garlic.
4. Now add the powdered spices.
5. Add tomatoes and cook until soft and the raw smell goes.
6. Add the marinated chicken peeled potatoes and fried onion paste.
7. Add some more beer so that the masala does not stick to the pan.
8. Finish with freshly chopped coriander and add a dash of lime.

City-based chef Shrikant Jogdankar gives a twist to seafood by frying it in a beer-infused batter to turn it into a delicious snack. Photo: JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar

Beer Batter Fried Seafood by Shrikant Jogdankar, sous chef, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar
Taking it a step further from the popular beer batter-fried onion rings, chef Shrikant Jogdankar gives the coastal city of Mumbai a taste of seafood with a twist by adding beer to it. Using a mix of prawns, squid and fish easily available in the market, the beer batter-fried seafood is a good snack to munch on during a party, big or small.

Ingredients
Lager beer - 330 ml, corn flour - 150 gms, refined flour - 150 gms, prawns - 100 gms, fish- 50 gms, squid- 50 gms, carrot- 10 gms, celery - 10 gms, leeks - 10 gms, salt - 15 gms, white pepper - 10 gms, garlic- 5 gms, oil - 500 ml, mayonnaise - 100 gms, lemon - 1 no.

Method:
1. Add the corn flour, refined flour, finely chopped carrot, leeks, celery and seasoning to a bowl.
2. Mix all the ingredients slowly and add beer to it till a thick batter is formed and rest for 30-35 minutes.
3. Season the seafood with salt and pepper. Dust it with corn flour and dip in the beer batter.
4. Deep fry the seafood in the oil till golden brown.
5. Serve with citrus mayonnaise.

Chef Akanksha Saigal recommends a lager-infused pasta for people who want to experiment with Italian cuisine. Photo: Elephant and Co.

Fettuccine Pasta in Beer - Puttanesca Sauce by Akanksha Saigal, chef, Elephant and Co., Kalyani Nagar
If you are looking to experiment with meals beyond a light snack or Indian cuisine, chef Akanksha Saigal at Elephant and Co. recommends plating up a hearty serving of lager-infused pasta. While the chef uses the restaurant's in-house lager in the dish, they say it can be substituted with any accessible beer.

Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil - 3 tbsp, capers (drained) - 20 gms, finely chopped garlic - 8 cloves, anchovy fillets/ chopped (optional) - 4 nos, red chillies (seeded and chopped) - 2 nos, chopped onions - 1, chopped red tomatoes - 4 nos, fresh basil - 2 sprigs, Icy Mamba- ECO Brewing Company or any lager - 60ml, Kalamata olives, halved - 20 gms, salt and black pepper to taste, fettuccini pasta - 200 gms, chopped flat-leaf parsley - 2 tbsp.

Method:
1. Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, anchovies, chillies, and onions.
2. Sauté and stir occasionally until ingredients are golden brown in about 20 minutes.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and basil and cook for 15 minutes till the tomatoes go mushy.
4. Add the capers and beer and let it boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer. Stir occasionally until sauce thickens and reduces to half.
5. Purée sauce in a blender and return sauce to pan over low heat. Stir in olives and season with salt and pepper.
6. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until cooked. Drain pasta and transfer pasta to sauce and toss to combine.
7. Stir in a little pasta water to adjust the consistency of the sauce. Serve pasta garnished with parsley.

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