Acarajé
Why I Love This Recipe
My mom is from Bahia and this recipe is typical from there. I just love how crisp it is on the outside and soft inside....usually we fill it with Vatapá so i'm also riding it down ok?
If you live in LA you can find a brazilian supplier store in Downtown as i did :)
*WARNING*
THIS IS A RECIPE THAT YOU NEED TO START AHEAD!!!
Ingredients You'll Need
For the Acarajé:
1,1 lb black-eyed peas
1 medium onion - grated
Salt to taste
2 cups dendê oil
For the Vatapá:
2 red chillies
5 stale french bread - grated untill looks like flour
33,81 oz coconut milk
2,65 oz pealed and toasted peanuts
2,65 oz toasted cashew nuts
1,1 lb dried shrimp - no shell
1 cup dendê oil (palm oil) - it should look orange and sometimes have like an orange past in the bottom of the bottle.
2 medium onions - grated
Salt to taste
Directions
Acarajé:
Leave the black-eyed peas to soak for 12 hours, like from a day to another.
Rub the peas inside your hand tso they lose the skin. Once your done with it, drain the peas and take any skin left. It is normal to still have some.
Beat in a blender with the onion and salt. Heat the dendê oil like if you were going to fry french fries...this hot. Using 2 tablespoons mold the dough, and fry them until they look well golden. Put them to drain in Paper towels.
Cut them lengthwise without split them in half. Reserve so they stay warm.
Vatapá:
Beat in a blender the chillies, peanuts, cashews and half of the shrimp.
In a deep saucepan, sautée onion in dendê oil, add shrimp beaten with chillies, peanuts, cashew nuts and remaining shrimps, mixing well.
If necessary, add salt. Add to the pan the coconut milk and the bread. Let it simmer. It will look like a dense cream, so you can fill the acarajés and the cream won't fall all out of it :)
Take the acarajés and fill with vatapá. Garnish with a few more dried shrimp if desired.
