Cray Fish /Tasmanian Lobster Masala

I was at the market the other day and saw these beauties for sale.  I was a bit nervous of the live ones - as it was the first time I am cooking with them.  The lady at the shop suggested I take a pre cooked one since it was my first time - so I followed her advice.  I was going to cook it exactly like crab, I thought to myself - and now that I am done, I can tell you that it tasted divine.  The flesh was firm and sweet and the coconut milk added at the end accentuated that flavour.

Don't be scared by the spiny head and body - it is very easy to cut it with your kitchen knife and shears.

I boiled the shells and the legs in water and I will use that as stock when I make seafood paella or risotto next. I was fascinated by the shell - and took lots of photographs too. It might be a while before I try buying a live lobster, though.  The lobster I bought was a little less than a kilo including the shell and it was enough for the two of us.

Ingredients:

1 kg Cooked Tasmanian Lobster / Cray Fish with shell, cleaned and head and tail shells reserved for decoration.

1 tablespoon ginger- garlic paste.  You can use the store bought paste for convenience.  But if you want your dish to taste authentic, you have to grind ginger and garlic in the ratio 1:1 and use 1 tablespoon of it.

1 large red onion, diced.

1 green chilli.

1 ripe red tomato, diced.

1 sprig curry leaves

1-2 teaspoons chilli powder ( depending on how hot you would like this dish to be)

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

2-3 tablespoons desiccated coconut, soaked in hot water.

Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, about ½ teaspoon.

4-5 tablespoons of cooking oil

½ teaspoon black mustard seeds.

2-3 tablespoons of coconut milk

Method:

Remove the lobster tail from the head, cut it and get the meat out.  I also removed the two larger claws and got the meat out of them.  I just used kitchen shears to cut the shell.

The meat comes out very easily from the shell - you can cut it any way you like.  For this recipe I cut it into medallions.

Grind the desiccated coconut with the green chilli to a fine paste. Add the ground black pepper powder to it and set aside.

In a large wok, add cooking oil.  Heat it and add the mustard seeds.  When the mustard seeds crackle, add the curry leaves and chopped onion. Sauté the onions for a few minutes till they got translucent and start to caramelize.  Now add the ginger garlic paste and sauté till you get a nice aroma.  Next add the tomatoes and sauté till the oil separates from the rest of the ingredients. 

At this point, add the chilli powder and turmeric powder.  Add salt to taste and mix well, cooking till the raw smell of the chilli powder goes away. Add the coconut paste and mix well. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Next, add the lobster pieces and mix well. Add the coconut milk and cook for a minute and turn the stove off. Once you add the lobster, remember not to cook for too long as the lobster is already cooked.  You just need to mix it in with the masala and not over cook.

Serve hot with rice or chappaties or have it just like that with a glass of white.