Acarajé

Bahia, Brazil (Yoruba-Nigerian African tradition via enslaved Africans; sacred offering to Iansã/Oyá in Candomblé)

Acarajé is Bahia's most iconic street food and a sacred food in the Candomblé religion — peeled black-eyed peas soaked, ground to a paste with dried shrimp and onions, formed into balls, and deep-fried in dendê palm oil until the exterior is golden and the interior is soft and savoury, then split and filled with vatapá (a thick paste of dried shrimp, ground peanuts, dendê, and coconut milk), caruru (okra stew), salted dried shrimp, and pimentas (chilli peppers). The acarajé is sold by Baianas de acarajé — women wearing traditional Afro-Brazilian white dress and headwrap whose presence and uniform are regulated by Brazilian cultural heritage law. The dish was brought to Brazil from West Africa (specifically Yoruba tradition, where it is called àkàrà and is an offering to the deity Iansã/Oyá).

The filling combination of vatapá, caruru, and fresh chilli is one of the most complex fast food constructions in the world; the sacred significance of acarajé in Candomblé means eating it is participating in a living cultural tradition.