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BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days Country: B for Brazil Dish:Acarajé(Black Eyed Peas Fritters)
Today we are going to northeast of Argentina, to the largest country in both South America and Latin American region,Brazil. Brazil is one of the countries that my husband frequently visits. It remained a Portuguese colony until 1808 and is now the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world.
My knowledge of Brazil is limited to the Amazon rainforest(about 60% of the rainforest in within Brazil and 13% in Peru), Rio de Janeiro (from watching lot of movies) and of course football.
Brazilian cuisine varies greatly by region, reflecting the varying mix of indigenous and immigrant populations. It has European and African influences. Root vegetables like cassava, yams, and fruit like acai, papaya, guava, passion fruit and pineapple are among the local ingredients used in cooking. The national beverage is Coffee. Brazil has been the world's largest producer of coffee for the past 150 years.
Todays' dish is an African cuisine inspired Brazilian dish called Acarajé. It is a deep fried fritter made from peeled black-eyed peas. It is found in Nigerian and Brazilian cuisines. It is traditionally made in the northeastern Brazil, especially in the cities of Salvador and Olinda, often sold as street food.
I made this dish along with my mom in India. After the black eyed peas are soaked, they have to be peeled and this is what makes the dish time consuming and labor intensive. We had to take turns for peeling the peas. I would recommend to employ kids (with reasonable gross motor skills), teenagers and family/ friends for this task. If you absolutely have no help, then take your time and watch a nice long movie to get this done. Do not plan on making these for impromptu guests or as a last minute snack, they will never get to the dinner table on time.
So once you have the peeled black-eyed peas ready, it is smooth sailing from there on. Traditionally shrimp paste is added to the batter but I skipped it. Also these are made a little bigger and then stuffed with salad and some spicy pastes. I skipped that part too and fried them as fritters. They are really airy and fluffy in the inside and a little crispy on the outside. They are best eaten hot.
Acarajé (Black Eyed Peas Fritters)
African cuisine inspired Brazilian dish called Acarajé. It is a deep fried fritter made from peeled black-eyed peas. It is found in Nigerian and Brazilian cuisines. It is traditionally made in the northeastern Brazil, especially in the cities of Salvador and Olinda, often sold as street food.
Soak black eyed peas overnight. In the morning, peel off the skin -- this is a very tedious and time consuming process. Suggest to get lot of help or lot of patience.
Once all (or most) of the beans are peeled, then soak them again for 30 minutes with coarsely chopped onion.
Drain the beans and onions and put them in a blender or food processor. Add chopped garlic, chili powder, ground cumin and salt. Process until the mixture is very smooth. Remove into a mixing bowl and add enough bread crumbs to form a batter that holds shape when formed into a ball.
Heat oil for deep frying and fry the balls until golden brown on all sides. Remove onto a paper towel lined plate and serve hot.
Àkàrà (Yoruba) (English: bean cake; Hausa: kosai; Portuguese: acarajé (Portuguese pronunciation: [akaɾaˈʒɛ]) is a type of fritter made from cowpeas or beans (black-eyed peas) by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Togo and Benin. It is found throughout West African, Caribbean, and Brazilian cuisines.
Since you are already deviating from tradition with this recipe, try pairing acaraje with non-traditional fillings, such as ham salad, pimento cheese, olive tapenade, etc.
West African slaves first brought acarajés to Brazil between the 16th and 19th centuries. In the new country, enslaved and manumitted women walked the streets selling acarajé. The name acarajé is composed of two words from the African Yoruba language — “akará,” meaning fireball, and “je,” to eat.
With a creamy texture and mild taste, black-eyed peas can be made into delicious stews, fried patties, or even hearty salads. They're especially popular in the Southern U.S. during New Year's celebrations (thought to bring good luck) and in Caribbean cooking where they're traditionally served in rice.
Acaraje is a street-food specialty in the Brazilian state of Bahia, a ball of mashed black-eyed peas that is deep-fried in palm oil, then split in half and stuffed with deliciousness, usually spicy pastes made with cashews and prawns, plus whole-fried school prawns, served with more hot sauce.
Acarajé is a stuffed fritter that is sold and eaten as a street food in Bahia. If you want to make a traditional acarajé take a look; a blend of black eyed peas, salt, pepper, and onions makes the dough. This mixture is molded into a round disc and deep fried in red palm oil.
Traditional Brazilian foods include Feijoada, Pão de Queijo, Acarajé, Churrasco, Carne de Sol, Moqueca, Coxinha, Pastel, Brigadeiro, Açaí, and Bobó de Camarão.
A pastel ( pl. pastéis) is a typical Brazilian fast-food dish, consisting of half-circle or rectangle-shaped thin crust pies with assorted fillings, fried in vegetable oil. The result is a crispy, brownish fried pie.
Baiana de Acarajé: Intangible Cultural Heritage of Brazil
It is a traditional practice of production and sale, on a tray, of the so-called baiana's foods, made with palm oil and linked to the cult of the orixás, widely disseminated in Salvador.
It is native to southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and parts of Argentina and is cultivated in mild dry climates for its sweet fruit. The feijoa was introduced into southern Europe in 1890 and into California about 1900. The fruits can be eaten fresh and are made into jam and jelly and also crystallized.
This is a typical dish of African cuisine and Bahian cuisine, prepared with the same precepts of African-based religions. Its origin has the mark left by former enslaved people, from when it was served in rituals and religious festivals, or sold by women who set up their trays in the streets of the Historic Center.
Origins. The dish has its origins in the 17th century. Its name comes from the tropeiros – merchants who sold horses, mules, and food between the south and southeast regions of Brazil.
Beans are known to cause gas and bloating in some people, but research suggests that when you eat them regularly your body adapts, so you experience less discomfort over time. When you're adding beans to your diet, black-eyed peas may be the perfect type to start with.
When Sherman's troops overtook and raided the food supplies of the Confederate South, Union soldiers regarded as them as animal feed and left them behind in the fields. The Confederates, however, survived by eating this crop and considered themselves lucky to have had them and, so, the peas became symbolic of luck.
The bottom line. Black-eyed peas are highly nutritious and associated with many impressive health benefits. In particular, they may help support weight loss, improve heart health, and promote digestive health. They're also versatile, delicious, and easy to incorporate into a number of recipes as part of a healthy diet.
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