Vatapá

Vatapá is bread, shrimp, coconut milk, cashews and dendê oil blended together into a thick, bright orange paste. It's one of Bahia's foundational Afro-Brazilian dishes, eaten as a stew in its own right or spooned inside acarajé as one of that dish's signature fillings.

What it really is

Stale bread soaks and softens before it blends with dried and fresh shrimp, coconut milk, ground cashews or peanuts, and a generous amount of dendê oil until the whole mixture turns into a thick, smooth, bright orange paste rather than a chunky stew. Ginger, garlic and chilli often work into the base for depth, and the paste simmers gently, stirred frequently, until it thickens further and the flavours meld — the bread is what gives vatapá its body, closer to a dense purée than a traditional broth-based stew.

It's inseparable from Bahia's Afro-Brazilian religious tradition, not just its cuisine. Vatapá appears as an offering in Candomblé ceremonies as well as on everyday tables, a dual role that ties the dish to Bahia's cultural identity well beyond its use as acarajé's filling.

How it's served

• Thick and warm, spooned over rice as a main course.
• As a filling inside acarajé, alongside caruru.
• In a bowl on its own, sometimes with extra shrimp on top.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the crustaceans, wheat in the bread, and cashews.
• Say if peanuts are used instead of or alongside cashews, since both versions exist.
• Note the dendê oil's role, since its flavour and colour define the dish.