Octopus specials stirred up by chef Pradip Rozario. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

It’s all over but for the proposed transfer, football club-style, of Paul the oracular octopus from his comfortable lodgings in Oberhausen in Germany to Spain. Oh yes, there is talk of the Madrid zoo asking for Paul with a tempting offer, and an animal exchange programme. Naturally, it has been turned down by the Germans.

But while we have all been caught in the unlikely tentacles of correct prediction from a mere octopus, and angry fans have actually wanted to grill poor Paul, we seem to have sidestepped the actual delights that tucking into octopus can afford us.

So we decided to check with some of the master chefs from our own city about whether they have dabbled in the eight-legged stuff.

Ever thought of having a Shorse Octopus, an Octopus Paturi or a Kulcha Stuffed With Octopus? All this and more can be found at KK’s Fusion next to Swabhumi. In fact, Pradip Rozario hasn’t just stopped at ethnicising Paul’s cousins, but has come up with more than two dozen offerings at our bidding.

From starters, Chinese-style, to some exotic main course dishes, he has even gone that extra Spanish mile for the football champions and Paul’s correct prediction by giving us Paella With Octopus.

There are people who cringe at the idea of octopus, or squid or snails for that matter. The usual reaction is ‘ugh octopus’! But tarry a while. For the octopus has now achieved a special status in elegant cuisines. The secret definitely is in the pre-nuptials. Cleaning octopus under running water is a must after turning it inside out. Removing the beak and eyes and ink sack is mandatory too. The boiling process depends on individual chefs — at least an hour — and yet it must not be overcooked.

Squirm you must not. For anyone who has cooked crabs, will know enough cleaning up is needed — don’t we for a good Kankra Curry?

But let’s get to the actual dishes that we can savour. How about an Octopus Satay? Marinated with peanut butter and seasoning, skewered on satay sticks, grilled and served with peanut butter sauce.

Or do you fancy something more Japanese? Then an Octopus Yakitori would be the perfect answer, with that touch of soya and ginger, which you can have dipped in a Szechwan sauce. Rozario also makes Octopus Salt-pepper, in much the same manner as you would have your Prawns Salt-pepper in Chinese restaurants, or even a Golden Fried Octopus in Hot Garlic Sauce.

If you’d rather go Indian, then he still takes you by surprise. You can opt for an Octopus Tikka or an Octopus Malai Kebab. And that’s just for starters.

For the main course, there’s a choice of an Italian dish with a rich cream sauce, octopus steamed with Thai spices and served with steamed rice; a couple of spicy Mexican numbers, a grilled octopus with lemon butter sauce, a Greek version, and even an Octopus Makhani cooked in a rich cashew gravy.

The rice preparations are even more amazing, and certainly easier on the acceptance, for those of you who are not yet convinced about impaling a grilled eight-limber (they are only baby octopus, remember). There’s of course what we mentioned earlier — the Spanish paella, but you could well try an Octopus Biryani, a risotto with octopus, which is most agreeable, or a Bengali-style lentil khichudi with octopus.

That’s not all. At the hands of Rozario, octopuses have been stuffed into tortilla bread, coated with bean sauce, sprinkled with cheese and baked, and a Pizza Roulade also gets the octopus treatment from him, served with hot garlic sauce.

Chef Chiranjib Chatterjee of Afraa does a tender Barbecued Octopus Salad, which is mixed with sweet Thai chilli sauce, pepper, coriander and lime juice and tossed with olive oil and assorted salad greens like rucola, romaine and endive. He served it at one of Afraa’s Sunday brunches, and I was really taken by surprise. The secret, he tells me, is in the marination.

You now have a few choices — be a gourmand and give one of these octopus creations, so cleverly and creatively conceived, a go. Or, get adventurous and pick up a packet of baby octopus from Metro Cash & Carry, and try the whole process of cooking it yourself.

I would plump for the former, to start with. The photographs here tell their tale.