Tandoori style lobster is tender with just enough bite!
When I made tandoori style lobster for my wife, Caroline last night she was not very pleased at first. In her opinion, the delicate sweet natural flavour of lobster needs nothing more than a little butter and garlic. I have to say, I agree. But as you may or may not know by now, I am just over four months into a year of eating and cooking nothing but Indian food. Yesterday two nice one and a half pound live lobsters were on my hit list.
Though I do prefer my lobsters without much seasoning, this tandoori style lobster was delicious. Even Caroline had to apologise in the end as she absolutely loved it. I served the lobster with saffron rice which was all washed down with a bottle of ice cold Pinot Grigio.
I cooked the tandoori style lobster on a Webber kettle barbecue over a wood fire but you could cook it much easier in a conventional oven without losing much flavour.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 30 minutes plus marinading time
Cooking time: 6 minutes
INGREDIENTS for tandoori style lobster
2 live lobsters (1 1/2 lbs each)
Marinade
125ml (1/2 cup) plain yogurt
1 egg
5 cloves garlic – smashed
2 inch piece ginger – grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
Juice of two lemons
2 tablespoons gram flour
1 tablespoon garam masala
4 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoon finely chopped coriander
How to kill and prepare the lobster
Place the point of a sharp knife toward the top of the lobster’s head with the sharp part of the blade facing away from the tail.
Very quickly stick the knife into the lobster’s head and slice downward bringing the sharp blade through the head to the work surface.
Now cut the lobster the other way down the body and tail so you have to long halves.
Remove all the black and green goo and other membranes.
Carefully remove the meat from the tail and claws. If you do this slowly, you should be able to keep the pieces whole.
Wash the shells and set aside.
Method
Place the marinade ingredients in a blender and blend to a fine paste.
Cover the lobster meat with the marinade and allow to sit for about an hour.
Preheat your oven to its highest setting.
Remove the lobster meat from the marinade and cut into bite sized chunks and place back in the shells.
Place these in your oven and baste with butter after about three minutes.
THIS IS IMPORTANT!
Watch your lobsters very carefully. I suggest cooking tandoori style lobster for six minutes but ovens can vary. Overcooked lobster is ruined lobster. You want the meat to be just cooked through and tender.
Rafiq
Wednesday 6th of September 2023
Twelve years, two months, and twenty-three days after the date on this article, I am here! Mainly due to this being the third link that Google returned when I searched for "tandoori lobster".
And why would I search for something that, at first, seemed so weird to me? Because Emirates Airline offers me the option of either "mixed grill", "tandoori lobster" or "roasted chicken with smoked turkey jus" during my flight next Sunday!
I'd never come across "tandoori" style of lobster. And now, thanks to your page, I know roughly what to expect if I opt for "tandoori lobster, served with saffron rice and cream sauce". With no Pinot Grigio on this flight, I will probably opt for a couple of glasses of Moet & Chandon instead.
Thank you for this page. And now I've also looked you up and ordered "The Curry Guy Thai" from Amazon! I will probably not be reading it any time soon; just bought it as an expression of appreciation.
With best regards.
Dan Toombs
Monday 11th of September 2023
Hi Rafiq
Thank you very much for purchasing The Curry Guy Thai. I hope you do get a chance to try some of the recipes. Enjoy the tandoori lobster! I love it.
Thanks, Dan
Stephanie
Tuesday 14th of June 2011
Wow! I think the range of what I have eaten is vast and then I see a tandoori lobster. I agree that lobster is delicate but so is a white fish and I think I would make it tandoori style too. Looks delicious!
Dan Toombs
Wednesday 15th of June 2011
It is! I hope you have a chance to try it. Thanks for stopping by. Dan