First time New Delhi experienced the taste of Louisiana seafood boil at Holiday Inn Aerocity, New Delhi. Chef Sumit Sabharwal curated the concept in collaboration with Chef Aashish Seth from Soulfood Mumbai. Over the weekend of 18th & 19th March 2023, Viva, the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, put its best foot forward to open its doors to display a unique food spread and casual dining layout especially curated for Louisiana seafood boil. The food type is not meant to be gourmet or require a fine dining setup. On the contrary, traditionally, the food is enjoyed the best in a casual setup, no forks & knives, please! Eat using your hands, get your fingers dirty and pig out.
The hotel found many takers for Louisiana seafood boil, the lesser experimented food concept in Delhi and India. The delectable, freshly sourced seafood spread with its unique informal dining experience was relished by food aficionados, the hotel’s foreign clientele and regular Indian food enthusiasts. Served at 4500 plus taxes per person only to pre-booked tables, the food list on the table spread included Prawns, clams, mud crabs, Lobsters, calamari and more. All ingredients were as freshly sourced as can be per orders, were brought out in buckets, and then laid on the table for everyone to enjoy. The food was served with delicious Kikkoman sauces and Indri to gulp it all down.
For all those who have missed out on experiencing the Louisiana seafood boil, the hotel has announced the 15th – 16th of April 2023 for the next one after a successful two-day event in March.
Trivia: Louisiana Seafood Boil
While there’s no exact date of origin that we know of to the place when seafood boils started, it’s safe to say that with the arrival of Cajun people from Maritime regions of Canada in the 1700s, one of the culinary traditions they brought with them was the seafood boil. Various seafood such as shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, mussels, and crawfish — along with vegetables including corn, potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms — are in a seafood boil. All ingredients are boiled in a seasoned broth and often served with lemon and parsley. The feast is usually served with a selection of flavoured vinaigrettes, cocktail sauces, creamy dips and melted butter. Unlike most meals, at a seafood boil, eating with your hands at the table is not only allowed ― it’s encouraged.
A boil is a catch-all-term for seafood cooked together, often with other non-seafood ingredients. Even though the name comes from the method most popularly used in cooking, boiling in an XL pot, the actual ‘boil’ can vary from steaming, baking or boiling. Traditionally a seafood boil is served by pouring the food out on a table lined with newspaper. It’s fun, plus it makes clean-up a heck of a lot easier.
In India, the concept is yet to get famous because the Indian palate is unfamiliar with the seafood though it is considered very fancy.
