OnTap Magazine

“I’d love a lager and a side of cauliflower au gratin”... said nobody that I’ve ever known. As a die-hard vegan I’ve been offered fruit juice, cocktails and cool drinks, but somehow never an ice cold beer to go with a meal. There’s a stereotypical view that anything fatty, meaty and tasty goes well with beer and that vegans and vegetarians prefer water and carrot sticks. But vegans have taste buds too and there’s nothing like a thirst-quenching brew when you’re downing a chickpea curry. And before you think it, no, it doesn’t have to be a non-alcoholic beer. Gone are the days when beers and braais were solely the domain of carnivores. Now vegans and vegetarians are also pairing their meals with beer and wine and the outcome can be mouth-watering. In fact several books have been penned about this growing trend. In his book, The Tipsy Vegan, American author John Schlimm tells readers how to turn every bite into a “happy hour”. He says while pairing food and drink with similar flavour profiles can work, opposites really do attract. Writing in the Vegetarian Times last year, he said that when drinking and eating you should “bring balance to a beer and food pairing by mixing and matching smoother, sweeter, or subtle flavoured food with a more intense, palate-grabbing beer, and vice versa” – for example to pair garlicky veggie kebabs with the subtle flavours of a pale lager. Vegetable Curry Serves: 4-6 | Preparation time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 40 minutes Ingredients 1 box Fry’s korma curry pieces 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed 1,5 cups butternut, peeled and cubed 2 tbsp oil 1 onion, diced 3 garlic cloves – crushed 2 tsp ground cumin 1,5 tsp ground cayenne pepper 4 tsp curry powder 4 tsp garam masala 2cm piece of ginger, peeled & chopped 2 tsp salt 1 can chopped tomatoes 1 can coconut milk 1 cup green beans - sliced 1 can chickpeas 6 rotis coriander (dhania) basmati rice Method Prepare fire. Put potjie pot on fire, heat oil and stir in onion and garlic. Cook for three minutes until onion has softened then add all spices including salt and ginger. Add tomatoes, potatoes and curry pieces. Pour in coconut milk and simmer for 20 minutes. Add water if necessary. Add butternut and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Gently stir in the green beans and chickpeas and simmer for two minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with basmati rice and rotis. By the time your curry is ready to eat the fragrance alone would have attracted the most ardent meat eater. Offer them a pale ale or a pilsner with the curry and you might convince them to take a walk on the veggie side more often.