Acarajé: learn how to make the bean cake and its side dishes

Acarajé is a black-eyed pea dumpling typical of Bahian cuisine. It can be enjoyed neat or even with a combination of side dishes. In the first topic, you can see how the cupcake is made. In the second, there are suggestions for traditional and vegan fillings. Thus, it is possible to please the most varied palates.

how to make acarajé

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of black-eyed peas
• Palm oil for frying
• Enough water to cover and mash the beans

How to make

1. Place beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Let it rest for 4 to 6 hours;
2. Drain the water and rub the beans between your hands to remove the skin. Reserve;
3. Grind an onion in a blender. Reserve;
4. In a frying pan, place the whole onion that is left with the skin and everything;
5. Then, add enough palm oil to the skillet to cover almost the entire onion;
6. Turn on the fire and wait for the oil to heat up;
7. Meanwhile, beat the beans in a blender or multi-processor with a little water;
8. Add water little by little, until you get a pancake-like texture.
9. Cover a large bowl with a clean dish towel and add the dough;
10. Close the ends of the dish towel and squeeze so that the excess water runs off;
11. In a bowl, add the strained pasta, salt and grated onion. Stir vigorously;
12. Fill a large spoon with the dough and pour it all at once into the hot oil;
13. Each side should fry for approximately 5 minutes or until the skin is golden brown.

The acarajé should not sink while it is being fried. If this happens, you need to knead the dough more. This is a recipe that yields eight cookies.

Fillings for acarajé

To make your cupcake even more delicious, a good suggestion is to prepare a neat filling. You can choose one of the options below or even mix several for a sensational flavor. Just take a look:

Vatapd

A classic accompaniment to acarajé, vatapá is based on stale bread, which is great for using up that bread left over from the day before! In addition, dried shrimp, milk, coconut milk, palm oil and seasonings also come into play. The preparation is not complicated and yields a very creamy and flavored filling for your bean cupcake.

Pigweed

Another traditional option for filling acarajé is caruru. The main ingredient used is okra, which is combined with palm oil, peanuts, chestnuts, a homemade cream of dried shrimp and seasonings. For the preparation, which is simple, you will need a pan and a blender.

green tomato vinaigrette

A vinaigrette isn’t just a Sunday barbecue, it’s also a great filling for acarajé. Here, the suggestion is to use green tomatoes combined with seasonings. In a short time in the kitchen, your side dish will be ready to be enjoyed.

Pepper sauce

How about giving a spicy touch to your bean cupcake? For that, this recipe proposes to make a pepper sauce. The list of ingredients may not be the shortest, but preparing a blender is very simple to reproduce at home.

Guacamole

To close the list, a suggestion of stuffing that deviates a little from the traditional, but that can conquer your taste: guacamole, made with avocado, tomato, onion and seasonings. Free from animal-derived ingredients, this is an excellent choice for vegans.

Making acarajé and its accompaniments at home may not be a quick task, but if you have a little time to spare, it’s worth a try. In the end, the result is irresistible. And if you want to venture even further into Brazilian cuisine, check out banana farofa recipes.