find out where to taste this Bahian delight in Curitiba

Today is Acarajé day. Do you know why? Law 12,206, of 2010, established November 25th as National Baiana de Acarajé Day. The date celebrates the cultural and historical importance of women who are dedicated to the production and sale of the delicacy, a symbol of Bahia, but of African origin. According to history, the dish arrived in Brazil brought by black Yoruba people, coming from Nigeria, trafficked as slaves especially in the 19th century.

Made from a dough of black-eyed peas, onion and salt, and fried in palm oil, acarajé is traditionally stuffed with vatapá (a paste made with bread, dried shrimps, peanuts, coconut milk, palm oil and seasonings). ) and caruru (a type of okra sautéed with dried shrimps, onion, palm oil and seasonings). The result is a fried dumpling that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a tasty filling.

The dish is directly associated with street cuisine, as the recipe was preserved by the acarajé baianas, black women who began to play a fundamental role in maintaining and disseminating this culinary tradition. They have become something of a tourist attraction in Bahia, and the preparation and sale of the delicacy on the streets of Salvador preserves the tradition and makes it accessible to both locals and tourists.

If you’ve already been to Bahia and fell in love with the dish or have never tried it, know that you can take advantage of this Saturday, Baiana de Acarajé Day, to remember the flavor and crunchiness right here in Curitiba or try it for the first time. Some places throughout the city, such as restaurants and street markets, serve this Bahian cultural symbol. Good Gourmet selected two of them, special for having found their own signatures to prepare the delicacy: Recanto Baiano, led by Milena Queiroz, and Coin, by chef Ivan Lopes.

Straight from Bahia

“I wanted people here to get to know acarajé”, explains Milena, who arrived in Curitiba from Bahia in 2013, but only started working in gastronomy in 2017. She only prepares acarajés on Fridays and Saturdays, at her Recanto Baiano, in Bairro Alto. And to prepare it with an authentic Bahian flavor, she ‘imports’ inputs from her home state. Then, a carrier brings her the already peeled black-eyed peas, palm oil and smoked shrimp. She explains:

“Here I can find whole black-eyed peas, but the process of removing the skin from the beans is laborious. The Municipal Market has palm oil, but I never bought it because I don’t know if it really comes from Bahia. And there is also shrimp here, but it is not smoked. Mine goes through a smoking process. So it all comes from there,” he says. Due to logistics and costs, Milena chose to serve on Fridays and Saturdays. On other days, she usually works at events featuring Bahian cuisine and, of course, acarajé.

“The return that counts is receiving praise”, says Milena. “It is not a cash return, because the profit margin is small, due to the logistics of bringing the inputs from Bahia”, she reveals. In addition to acarajé, she works with other Bahian dishes, such as fish moquecas, shrimp bobó, abará, student cakes and others. “I try to do everything with originality. That, for me, is priceless.”

Light recipe

Ivan Lopes, chef and co-owner of Coin, has another way of preparing his acarajé. When frying, he replaces palm oil with regular oil. The explanation is simple: “As it is an extremely strong oil, there are people who are very sensitive to it, so I only use it in fillings.” The result, he says, is a lighter acarajé.

Another adaptation concerns shrimp, which in acarajé need to be dried. “In Curitiba, we have a problem with dried shrimp,” he says. “It doesn’t arrive pretty, it arrives more like shrimp crumbs. So I use the fresh one, which is just as good,” he says. At Coin, the chef serves the Bahian dish only on Sundays. According to him, the public loves it and doesn’t notice the difference between his recipe and the traditional one.

Ivan started making acarajé when he was running Mukeka, a restaurant he had in partnership with businessman Fabrício Dantas. And his story with Bahian food started out traumatic. “The first time I ate it was at a fair, I don’t remember where. And the first bite I took, I found a stone in the filling,” he recalls.

He tried it other times, liked it and incorporated it into his gastronomy specializing in Brazilian food.

Recanto Baiano is located at Rua Rio Iriri, 649, in Bairro Alto. Service takes place on Fridays and Saturdays, from 12pm to 8pm. Instagram is @recantobaianocwb. For events, WhatsApp is (41) 99595-0413.

Coin by Ivan Lopes is located at Rua Mauá, 110, Alto da Glória. It is open from Monday to Friday (except Tuesdays), from 11:30 am to 11 pm, and on Sundays, from 12 pm to 4 pm. More information on the website or on Instagram @coinporivanlopes. The telephone number is (41) 3503-8000.

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