Bahia’s Cuisine

To the uninitiated, Bahian cooking can seem a bit heavy. However, until they've tried it, most people agree that this unique Afro-Brazilian cuisine is delicious and satisfying, and they come back for more. Though it contains contributions from the Portuguese colonists and the Brazilian native Indians, by far the most important influence on Bahian cuisine came from the enslaved Africans, who not only brought their own style of cooking, but also modified Portuguese dishes with African herbs and spices.

Bahian cuisine is characterized by the generous use of malagueta chile peppers and dendê oil extracted from an African palm that grows well in the northeastern climate. Several Bahian dishes also contain seafood (usually shrimp), coconut milk, banana and okra.

Commonly eaten tropical fruits in Bahia's region include mango (manga), papaya (mamão), guava (goiaba), orange (laranja),passion fruit (maracuja), pineapple (abacaxi), custard-apple (pinha) and cashew (caju; both the fruit and the nut).

Inland, in the arid, drought stricken cattle growing and farm lands, foods typically include ingredients like dried meat, rice, beans, goat, manioc and corn meal.

Manioc (cassava) is the main staple, both as a vegetable and as a condiment.

The colorfully dressed baianas set up shop daily in thatched-roof kiosks or at improvised tables where they serve homemade sweets and acarajé (see below), which is a bit of a Bahian-style hamburger. Try this typical food at a place that has been recommended to you to be sure of getting a fresh product. Dinha, in the Largo da Santana in Rio Vermelho, and Cira, in Itapuã (both in Salvador), are very popular and highly recommended places to try these exotic delights.

Typical dishes of Bahia:

- Carurú (okra cooked in dendê oil with dried shrimp, onion, pepper and garlic) dishes are also spiritual foods and classic accompaniments, often served inside acarajés.

- Acararajé: Bahia's famous spiritual snack food ! The acarajés are made of black eyed peas mashed and continually stirred with a big wooden spoon  “what hard work” in salt and onions, deep fried in dendê palm oil in the shape of a crispy golden bun, then filled with dried shrimp and optional delicacies, pepper sauce or salad, and served at street corner stands by Baianas in their white candomblé garb. Traditionally only Candomblé initiates were allowed to prepare the acarajés (which are the devotional food of the Orixá named Iansã), but nowadays, according to the poll conducted in the streets of Salvador by an etnologist friend of mine, more than 50 per cent of the "Baianas" who prepare and sell the acarajé are Christians!) The Brazilian acarajé are actually an adaptation of the African "acará" prepared by the Yoruba people. "Acarajé" means "to eat acará".

- Bobó de camarão: Basically a paste made with manioc, dried shrimps, coconut milk and cashew nuts. Other ingredients may be added and flavor changes accordingly. It requires great dexterity from the cook; if well prepared, it's certainly one of, if not the most delicious dishes of the Afro-Brazilian cuisine.

- Bacalhoada : It´s a kind of seafood prepared with cod fish in form of stew.

- Canjica: another specialty served during the "festas juninhas". Of creamy consistence, the canjica is prepared with grated corn, sugar and coconut milk, with cinnamon powdered on top for serving.

- Carne de Sol: It is a sun-dried salted meat of goat or beef, typical of the Northeast (drying and salting the meat was a way to preserve it in the torrid regions of the interior, and also to keep nutritive food for the months of harshness). It is generally served fried or grilled, together with bean, farofa, tomato salad, manioc or sweet potato and liquid butter (manteiga de garrafa), or with melted cheese.

- Caruru: Another dish borrowed from Africa. Okras are cooked in water then mixed with onions, shrimps, hot peppers and palm oil. It’s very sticky! Eaten with the fingers (together with farofa) after certain ceremonies in candomblé temples.

- Casquinhas de siri: The "siri" is a kind of crab. Typical from the Northeast, it is a creamy preparation made with crabmeat, coconut milk, olive oil and chervil, cooked and served in the emptied crab shell. Often topped with grated cheese then toasted before serving.

--Couve and Aipim {Kale and Cassava}:A typical dish prepared with black beans sun-dried beef, kale, sausages and served with rice, cassava flour and oranges.

- Churrasco : This is a kind of Baebecue that originates from Agentina to Brazil. Different cuts of meat is being prepared without spices or sauce. It is simply a festa of meat.

- Farofa : Manioc flour lightly sautéed in butter or oil until it resembles buttered bread crumbs.Baianos love  this white flour. They practically  put it in everything that they eat. It comes in different colors, mainly in white and yellow.

- Feijoada : This is beans stew mixed with all kinds of beaf. Typical is lots of states in Brazil. It is mostly served in special occassion. It is rich in protein and fat and the people just love it.

- Frigideira: A fried dish consisting of fish and shellfish, with dough made from beaten egg and coconut milk, cooked in a clay or metal dish.

- Lagosta com leite de coco: Rock lobster with coconut milk.

- Moqueca (& ensopado): Competing with "bobó de camarão" for the award of best Afro-Brazilian dish. It is a fish stew including coconut milk, tomatoes, peppers, onions, coriander (cilandro) leaves, palm oil, and shrimps or shellfish. The best moquecas are those cooked in the traditional clay pot, which is then carried steaming hot from the kitchen to your table. It is accompanied by rice, manioc flour, pirão (manioc floor stirred with the cooking juices). The recipe has several regional variations. A lighter version is the ensopado, that doesn't use palm oil.

- Munguzá: Typical of the "festas juninhas", it is a kind of thick soup made with corn-meal, coconut milk, sugar, clove, fennel and sometimes shredded coconut. Like the canjinca it is served hot, powdered with cinnamon.

- Paçoca: A kind of farofa prepared with dried meat that has been cut into small pieces then mortared with the manioc flour before being fried with seasonings.

- Pamonha: Another typical treat of the "festas juninhas", also based on corn. The pamonha is prepared with grated corn, mixed with a little sugar or salt and coconut milk, then wrapped in the leaves of the corn and cooked in boiling water.

- Peixe de coco: Literally "coconut fish" - fish prepared with coconut and its milk.

- Quibebe or quibe or kibe : Brazilian version of the Syrian dish « kibbeh » : minced lamb (but more often beef in Brazil) mixed with bulgur and spices, stuffed inside a pastry crust and grilled or fried.

- Vatapá: This paste-like delicacy is one of the fillings of the acarajé. It has a creamy texture and is made of coconut milk, cashew nuts, ginger, bread and pieces of fish with dried shrimps simmered in palm oil and aromatic herbs then blended.

- Xinxim de galinha: Could almost compete with moqueca and bobó de camarão for the award of best Afro-Brazilian dish! Pieces of chicken are sautéed then cooked with garlic, lemon and a paste made from dried shrimps, peanuts, ginger and palm oil.

 The Alcoholic drinks that  are making waves in Bahia.

Cerveja - This is the beer when traslated into English. If one is a heavy drinker, do not expect the Brazilian beer to intoxicate you. It is light and smooth. Though I do not drink, I have heard lots of foreigners complain times without numbers of the mildness of the Brazilian beer.  All the beer taste the same except for Bohemia which is more expensive.

Caipirinha - This is the most sought after alcoholic drink in Salvador-Bahia. It is refreshing and welcoming. Too much of it can knock you out though. It is made of cachaca (spirit), lime, sugar and lot of ice. If you feel the caipirinha is light you can try the Caipiroska, this is the alcoholic drink people that are fed up of having the caipirinha graduate to. it is made with vodka and the caipsake and it is served alongside different fruits like seriguela, pineapple, tangerine, strawberry.

Non- Alcoholic Drink

Since the popular cocacola, fanta and sprite are the world over it will be advisable to try something new. The two soft drinks that I will recommend any time any day in Salvador are the  agua de coco (coconut water) which is very good when one is dehydrating. It is also a great remedy for hang-overs. The Guarana is a typical Brazilian soft drink, made from the Amazon. It is an energy booster. it comes in different flavor. Do not leave Bahia without a sip of this refreshing drink and remember, it is preferably drank on the rocks.


Superfood No. 1: Açaí

Nature's Energy Fruit

"It may seem odd to start this list of superfoods with one you?ve likely never even heard of. But studies have shown that this little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world! Açaí (ah-sigh-ee) is the high-energy berry of a special Amazon palm tree. Harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, açaí tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature's perfect energy fruit. Açaí is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. Although açaí may not be available in your local supermarket, you can find it in several health food and gourmet stores (often in juice form). A new product featuring the unsweetened pulp is now also available, and I highly recommend that you choose this form of açaí."

SAÚDE BRASIL

Specialty: organic vegetables, grilled and special fruits juices, besides integral products. The menu of the restaurant is specially made for the followers of good natural food. The entire menu is categorically red, fried or canned meat free. The restaurant offers 14 options of hot plates and grilled, besides twenty different types of salads. 

Rua Humberto de Campos, 06, Graça
CEP 40.150-130
Tel (071) 247-7237 - Fax: (071) 247-7622
Open Mon - Sun 10am – 5pm  

MANJERICÃO

Specialty: gnocchi of fruit bread, collard greens, and lasagna made of banana, orange juice, lemon juice, and carameled pineapple, and mint, cauliflower pizza e.tc

Situated in a cool and pleasant atmosphere, the furniture of the restaurant is outdoor style.

Rua Fonte do Boi, 03-B, Rio Vermelho
CEP 41.940-360
Tel  (071) 335-5641
Open Mon - Sat 12am – 3.30pm 

DIGERIR

Specialty: natural food in general 

Shares space with a natural food store and dietary products and a snack bar, Digerir offers a great variety of menu which includes 12 hot plates, 15 salads and 3 desserts daily. The main course is the pasta. It is worthwhile to try the Russian bread with raisins and crystallized fruits too.
Praça do Campo da Pólvora, 12, Nazaré
CEP 40.040-280
Tel (071) 243-6447 - Fax: (071) 243-6639
Open – Mon – Fri 11.30am – 3pm, Sat 11.30pm - 2pm

Mama Bahia Salvador - Cuisine Steaks/Chops
This restaurant serves basically great grilled fish and meat. Some of the other dishes it is known for are pichanha, filet mignon, chicken all served a la carte. They have spectacular seletion of red wine mostly from Argentina and Chile. Do not forget to try the filet Mama Bahia specially made of grilled filet served with tagliatelli pasta in a Spanish tomato sauce with olives and peppers. When in the Pelourinho and you get abruptly starving the place to look for is the MAMA which will taste and remind you of your mama’s cuisine back home.
Rua Alfredo Brito 21, Salvador, BA CEP: 40025-280. Tel 071/3322-4397
Hours Daily 11am-midnight
Credit Cards Accepted AE, MC, V
Price Main courses R$19-R$38 (US$7.95-US$16)

Sorriso da Dadá

Most vistors to Bahia always blow the trumpet of the Sorriso da Dadá restaurant. But having visited and tasted what they’ve got. You will realize that, it is the same as those that you must have tasted in all the good restaurants that serve strightly Bahian cuisine. The proprietress Dadá has made quite a name for herself. Brazilians and foreigners come from far and wide to taste her food, and lots of things have been written about her in local magazines and news papers. Even the New York Times refer to her as the queen of tradition Bahian fare. Her restaurant attracts the high and mighty in the Brazilian entertainment industry. Try out her moquecas (crawfish and prawns in palm oil and coconut) and other Bahian dishes and see if you will be impressed. However, remember because of the amount of crowd that flocks into this restaurant, service is relatively slow.
Rua Frei Vicente 5, Pelourinho Salvador, BA CEP 41150900 Tel 071/3321-9642
Opening hours - 11am-midnight
Credit Cards Accepted AE, DC, MC, V

Acarajé da Cira

Largo de Itapuã

CEP: 40240-090

 (71) 3249-4170

Opening hours 10am – 11pm. 

Largo da Mariquita

CEP: 40240-090

 (71) 3249-4170
Rio Vermelho
Opening hours 10am – 11pm

Casa da Dinha do Acarajé
Rua João Gomes 25
 Rio Vermelho
CEP: 40210-090
 (71) 3334-0525/ 4350
Opening hours Mon - Thur 6:30pm – 12 midnight  Friday and Saturday 11.30 am -1am
 

KI-MUKEKA ARMAÇÃO

Specialized in strictly Bahian cuisine
Av. Otávio Mangabeira nº 136
Jardim Armação
Cep: 41.750-240
  (71) 3461-7037
Fax: (71) 3461-7333
E-mail: kimukeka@terra.com.br
Site: www.kimukeka.com.br

Or

Av. Octávio Mangabeira nº 907
Bairro: Pituba
Cep: 41.850-030
 (71) 3240-0192
Fax: (71) 3240-0192
E-mail: kimukeka@terra.com.br
Opening hours Mon - Sun11:30am – 11pm.

BARRAVENTO
Eat while you relax to the spectacular view of the Barra beach.
Av. Oceânica, Barra
Cep: 40160-000
 71) 3247-2577 Opening hours 9:00am - 3:00am

RESTAURANTE O COLISEU
Cruzeiro do São Francisco - 9 e 13
Pelourinho
CEP: 40.020-280
 71 3321-6918/ 3321-5585
Fax: 71 3321-6918
E-mail: reservas@ocoliseu.com.br
Site: www.ocoliseu.com.br

SENAC CASA DO COMÉRICO

Av. Tancredo Neves nº 1109 Casa do Comércio
Pituba
CEP 41.820-021
 (71) 3273-9759 / 9762
Fax: (71) 3273-9722
E-mail: senac@ba.senac.br
Site: www.ba.senac.br

Opening hours Mon – Sun 12:00 noon - 3:00pm and Lunch Tue - Sat 7pm - Midnight 24

SENAC PELOURINHO

Speciality: Bahian cuisine.
Praça José de Alencar nº 13/19
Pelourinho
CEP: 40025-140
 (71) 3324-4550
E-mail: senac@ba.senac.br
Site: www.ba.senac.br

Opening hours Mon – Sat 11.30 – 3.30pm and 6.30 – 11pm,