Acarajé

📜 Ingredients

• •dried black-eyed peas500 g (18 oz)🔁 None recommended — Any other bean changes the dough, its natural fermentation, and the identity of acarajé.
• •white onion1/2 medium, cut into pieces
• •salt1 teaspoon, or to taste
• •dendê oilabout 1.5 liters (6 cups), enough for a depth of 5–6 cm (2–2 1/2 inches) in the pot🔁 neutral vegetable oil — It fries the dough but does not provide the fragrance, color, or flavor that define acarajé.
• •vatapá250 g (9 oz), prepared and hot🔁 None recommended — The filling may be omitted, but there is no equivalent flavor.
• •caruru250 g (9 oz), prepared and hot🔁 None recommended — The filling may be omitted, but its okra texture is distinctive.
• •dried shrimp80 g (3 oz), heads removed🔁 None recommended — Without it, acarajé loses the filling’s traditional note of the sea.
• •tomato1 small, seeded and chopped
• •red onion1/4 small, finely chopped
• •cilantro1 tablespoon, chopped
• •lime juice1 tablespoon
• •malagueta chile sauce1 small sauce dish, served on the side🔁 chile sauce of your choice — The aroma changes, but each diner can still choose their own level of heat.

👨‍🍳 Preparation

1. 1

   Wash the black-eyed peas and soak them in cold water for 8–10 hours. Drain, then rub the beans between your hands in a bowl of water to loosen their skins; discard the skins little by little, repeating until most beans are hulled.

   Discarding the skins takes patience: they rise to the surface and come away more easily with several changes of water.

2. 2

   Process the hulled black-eyed peas with the onion and 2–4 tablespoons water, using only enough to form a very smooth, thick paste. Transfer to a bowl, add the salt, and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for 8–10 minutes, until the batter lightens in color and becomes airy.

   The batter should fall from the spoon in a soft mass, not run like pancake batter.

3. 3

   Make the salad by mixing the tomato, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice; set aside. Heat the vatapá and caruru in separate pans over low heat for 5–8 minutes, until hot. If desired, quickly rinse the dried shrimp and dry it before serving.

   The fillings go in at the end; heating them beforehand keeps the acarajé from cooling once it is split open.

4. 4

   Heat the dendê oil in a deep pot to 175–180 °C (350–355 °F) over medium heat, until a small portion of batter rises surrounded by steady bubbles. Using two spoons, shape oval portions of about 45 g (1 1/2 oz) and fry only a few at a time for 6–8 minutes, turning once, until puffed and evenly golden.

   Do not crowd the pot: a sharp drop in temperature makes the fritters heavy and oily.

5. 5

   Drain the acarajés for 1 minute on a rack or paper towels. Cut a side opening without separating the two halves and fill, in this order, with vatapá, caruru, dried shrimp, and salad; it is the assembly recognized at the tabuleiro. Serve the malagueta chile sauce on the side.

   The request for heat should be the eater’s choice; keep the chile out of the main filling.